North is one of the four cardinal directions, 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.

Definitions

North can mean:

1. true north, the direction along the earth's surface toward one pole of the earth's rotation, namely the pole that is clearly on one's left when standing at the Equator while facing the rising sun.
2. magnetic north, the direction along the earth's surface in which horizontal magnetic field strength has its most positive value (but the eventual next "flipping" of the magnetic poles, perhaps in a few thousand years, implies this awkward wording: "the north magnetic pole will later lie in the southern hemisphere".)
3. a loosely specified direction, usually within half a right angle of true north, especially when stating travel instructions in an area where directions of travel are constrained by an approximately rectangular grid of streets, hallways, etc.; this is often called 'grid north' or 'plan north'.
4. the orientation of a traveller with respect to a visible or otherwise definite continuous two-way route, such that sustained travel over the whole of the route produces a change of position to a location further north, even if that involves travelling a part of the route in another direction, even straight south; often termed "northbound".
5. pertaining to the part of a route mainly or exclusively used by northbound traffic, where southbound traffic is separated by barriers, or where both are encouraged to stay mostly in one portion by Rules of the road; often termed "northbound".
6. used euphemistically to refer to the direction of travel toward a goal, such as in football, the direction toward the opponents goal is north, and when players are moving crossways and not making progress toward the goal, they are said to be moving "east-west".

Etymology

The word north is traced to the Old High German nord, and the Proto-Indo-European unit ner-, meaning "left" (or "under"). (Presumably a natural primitive description of its concept is "to the left of the rising sun".)

Latin borealis is from Greek boreas "north wind, north", in mythology (according to Ovid) personified as the son of the river-god Strymon, and father of Calais and Zetes; septentrionalis is from septentriones, "the seven plow oxen", a name of Ursa Maior. Greek arktikos "northern" is named for the same constellation (c.f. Arctic).