North

North is a cardinal direction, one of the four main compass points. It lies directly opposite south and forms a right angle with both east and west. The word can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb when describing direction or location.

The term "north" traces back to the Old High German *nord*, both originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *ner-, meaning "left" or "below." This association comes from the fact that north is to the left when facing the rising sun, a pattern that links all cardinal directions to the sun’s position. In Latin, *borealis* derives from the Greek *Boreas*, the god of the north wind, who in Ovid’s mythology fathered Calais and Zetes. Another Latin term, *septentrionalis*, comes from *septentriones* ("seven plow oxen"), referring to the constellation Ursa Major. The Greek *arktikós*, also named for this constellation, gives English the word "Arctic." Other languages have unique derivations: in Lezgian, *kefer* means both "disbelief" and "north," because areas north of the Muslim Lezgian homeland were once inhabited by non-Muslim peoples. In many Mesoamerican languages, north also means "up." The old Romanian word for north is *mĭazănoapte*, from Latin *mediam noctem* (midnight), while Hungarian *észak* comes from *éjszaka* ("night"), since between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle the sun never shines from the north. North is sometimes abbreviated as N.

By convention, the top of a map points north. To navigate north with a compass, set a bearing or azimuth of 0° or 360°, which traces a meridian line upward. In Western culture, north is considered the fundamental direction, used explicitly or implicitly to define all others. The top edges of maps usually correspond to the northern edge of the area, unless landmarks are more useful or otherwise stated. On any rotating astronomical object, north often denotes the side that appears to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from afar along the axis of rotation. However, the International Astronomical Union defines the geographic north pole of a planet or satellite as the pole in the same celestial hemisphere as Earth’s north pole, relative to the Solar System’s invariable plane. This means some objects, like Uranus, spin clockwise when seen from the IAU north.

Magnetic north is the direction a properly functioning magnetic compass points. The difference between magnetic north and true north is called magnetic declination. For many purposes, ignoring this difference is acceptable; in others, compensation based on known declination solves the problem. Simple generalizations about terrestrial magnetism are often unsound. Maps for orienteering by compass clearly indicate local declination for correction to true north. Maps may also show grid north, the direction northward along the map projection’s grid lines.

The visible rotation of the night sky around the celestial pole provides a metaphor for north as "up." In the Northern Hemisphere, this choice is not arbitrary, especially for astronomers, though the Southern Hemisphere lacks a prominent pole star. Chinese and Islamic cultures traditionally considered south as the top of maps, while Polynesian cultures used winds to define cardinal points. In Western culture, maps are typically drawn with true or magnetic north at the top. Globes place the North Pole at the top, or in the top half if the axis is inclined. Maps usually label which direction corresponds to a real-world direction, often with a single arrow for true north, occasionally for magnetic north, or two arrows for both. A compass rose may appear, usually with north at the top and more prominently decorated. The idea that north should be "up" and east to the right was established by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Historian Daniel Boorstin suggested this might be because most known places in his world were in the Northern Hemisphere, making them easier to study in the upper right corner of a flat map. North is often associated with colder climates, as most high-latitude populated land lies in the Northern Hemisphere. The Arctic Circle passes through the Arctic Ocean, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland.