Northumber

N1O1R1T1H4U1M3B3E1R1
UK/nɔːˈθʌmbə/US/nɔɹˈθʌmbɚ/

noun

A Northumbrian.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounNorthumber (plural Northumbers)

plural Northumbers

  1. obsoletepoeticA Northumbrian.

    Some years after Alla's reign, when Ethelfred was king of the Northumbers, he made war with the British Christians that inhabited Wales, and was the author of that terrible slaughter of the monks of Bangor.

    1839, Charles Dodd, Mark Aloysius Tierney, Dodd's Church History of England […] , Charles Dolman, page 32
    2 more examples

    From this monastery, all the churches of Bernicia, or the northern part of the kingdom of the Northumbers from the Tine to the Firth of Edinburgh, had their beginning ; as had some also of those of the Deïri, who inhabited the southern part of the same kingdom from the Tine to the Humber.

    1821, Alban Butler, The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints, volume 8, John Murphy, pages 546–547

    All our historians agree that Oswald was a man of much piety, and of an amiable disposition. By his valour he united the kingdoms of Bernicia, and Deira, and made himself sole monarch over all the Northumbers.

    1842, Joseph Strutt, J. B. Planché, The Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England […] , Henry G. Bohn, page 133

Origin

  1. Old EnglishNorþhymbre
  2. Middle EnglishNorthhumbre
  3. EnglishNorthumber

From Middle English Northhumbre, from Old English Norþhymbre, variant of Norþanhymbre.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Northumber. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber

MLA

“Northumber.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Northumber,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber.

Source: Northumber on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.