means The direction that lies to your left when you face the rising sun, pointing toward the top of most maps and the Earth's upper pole.

from From Old English 'norð,' a word shared across the Germanic languages — Old Norse 'norðr,' German 'Nord' — all tracing back to a Proto-Germanic root 'nurthrą.' Beyond that the trail grows cold; one suggested deeper link is to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'down' or 'left,' the idea being that an early observer facing the dawn would have north on their left hand. That connection is plausible but not certain, so it remains a quiet maybe rather than a settled fact.