Meanings
plural septentrions · alternative septentriones
- obsoleteThe north or northern regions.
Thou art as opposite to every good / As the Antipodes are unto us, / Or as the south to the septentrion.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]
comparative more septentrion · superlative most septentrion · alternative septentriones
- obsoleteOf or relating to the north; northern.
From cold septentrion blaſts
1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 80, line 31
Origin
- Old Frenchseptentrïon
- Latinseptentriō, septentriōnem“the northern regions, the north”
- Middle Englishseptentrion
- Englishseptentrion
From Middle English septentrion, septentrione, septemtryones, septemtrioun, from Latin septentriō, septentriōnem (“the northern regions, the north”) directly and through Old French septentrïon, septemtrion, from septentriōnēs (“the seven stars near the north pole”) (called Charles's Wain, or the Great Bear, also those called the Little Bear; properly, the “seven plow oxen”); from septem (“seven”) + triō, originally a plow ox (compare triōnēs, from its plural). Cognate with French septentrion, Middle English septemtrioun.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
septentrion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/septentrion
“septentrion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/septentrion. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “septentrion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/septentrion.
Source: septentrion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.