[north.ern] adj [ME northerne, fr. OE; akin to OHG nordroni northern, OE north north] (bef. 12c) 1 cap a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated North b: of, relating to, or constituting the northern dialect
2. a: lying toward the north b: coming from the north "a ~ storm" -- north.ern.most adj
[2]northern n (1950) 1 cap: the dialect of English spoken in the part of the U.S. north of a line running northwest through central New Jersey, below the northern tier of counties in Pennsylvania, through northern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, across central Iowa, and through the northwest corner of So. Dakota
2: [3]pike 1a