🧭 Facing north 💨 From the north ⬆️ To the north 🌬️ A north wind

northerly

1 3.3

A wind that comes from the north

noun
/ˈnɔrðərli/

: viento del norte

As the northerly swept across the plains, it brought a sudden drop in temperature.

Examples

We need to put them in a Rat Museum in Chicago, located on Northerly Island.

Blog text (2)
By driving the RF finder on a Northerly to Southernly direction, then cross cutting it East to West we cover a large amount of the city all at once.

The Astro-Zombies (1968)
The northerly blew fiercely, chilling everyone at the outdoor event.
Farmers prepared for the northerly wind that was expected to arrive tomorrow.

Synonyms

north wind

vsnortherly

3 1.6

A wind that blows from the north toward the south

is a general label for a wind coming from that same direction

norther

vsnortherly

1 8.7

A strong cold wind that blows from the north

is a milder name for the same wind without implying strength

Boreas

vsnortherly

Literature

9.9

A north wind or the Greek god of that wind

is the everyday, nonliterary term rather than poetic usage

Antonyms

southerly

3.7

A wind that comes from the south

Surface Forms

northerly singular

northerlies plural

Morphology

northerly = norther (semi-transparent) = north + er + ly

The noun sense 'a wind from the north' depends on the specialized meaning of 'norther' (wind), which is not an entirely predictable extension of 'north' for learners.

Etymology

Northerly is formed from north ('the north') and -erly, so as a noun a northerly means a 'wind from the north'.