Meanings
plural Northumbers
- 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 322 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 546–547All 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
- Old EnglishNorþhymbre
- Middle EnglishNorthhumbre
- EnglishNorthumber
From Middle English Northhumbre, from Old English Norþhymbre, variant of Norþanhymbre.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Northumber. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber
“Northumber.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Northumber,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northumber.
Source: Northumber on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.