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Glite Dictionary
🧭 A compass point ↖️ Toward northwest
nor'-west

nor'-west

8.6
The compass point halfway between north and west
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : noroeste
  • The hiker adjusted his map and noticed that the next landmark was located to the nor'-west of his current position.

Examples

  • Sailors watched as dark clouds gathered in the nor'-west, warning of a coming storm.

  • The wind was blowing steadily from the nor'-west all afternoon.

  • He set his course towards the nor'-west to reach the island before dusk.

  • The wind is blowing from the nor'-west today.

  • There is a storm coming from the nor'-west.

  • Birds flew in a long line from the nor'-west as they migrated south for the winter.

  • As the sun began to set, the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange in the nor'-west.

Synonyms

northwest
vsnor'-west
  • Specialized
31 1.0

The compass direction halfway between north and west

is the same compass point but often shown as an abbreviation
NW
vsnor'-west
29 2.3

The direction halfway between north and west on a map

has identical meaning but uses the full word form
northwestward
vsnor'-west
3.1

The direction halfway between north and west on a compass

is the fixed compass point, not primarily about movement

Surface Forms

nor'-west singular

Morphology

nor'-west = north + west (transparent) = north + west

A clear compound of 'north' + 'west' (a dialectal/elided spelling with an apostrophe), so the direction is directly recoverable from the components.

Etymology

Nor'-west comes from putting together north and west, so it names the compass point halfway between those two directions; that's why it means that exact direction on a map or at sea.