North

North is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.

North is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west.

By convention, the top side of a map is north.

To go north using a compass for navigation, set a bearing or azimuth of 0° or 360°.

North is specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the fundamental direction:

North is used (explicitly or implicitly) to define all other directions.
The (visual) top edges of maps usually correspond to the northern edge of the area represented, unless explicitly stated otherwise or landmarks are considered more useful for that territory than specific directions.
On any rotating object, north denotes the side appearing to rotate counter-clockwise when viewed from afar along the axis of rotation.

Famous quotes containing the word north:

“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)

“In England if something goes wrong—say, if one finds a skunk in the garden—he writes to the family solicitor, who proceeds to take the proper measures; whereas in America, you telephone the fire department. Each satisfies a characteristic need; in the English, love of order and legalistic procedure; and here in America, what you like is something vivid, and red, and swift.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)

“By the North Gate, the wind blows full of sand,
Lonely from the beginning of time until now!
Trees fall, the grass goes yellow with autumn.”
—Li Po (701–762)