Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - northern

 or ~ Transvaal  geographical name — see Limpopo 2 NORTHERN  I. adjective  Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Old English; akin to Old High German nordroni ~, Old English north north  Date: before 12th century  1. capitalized  a. of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated North  b. of, relating to, or constituting the ~ dialect  2.  a. lying toward the north  b. coming from the north a ~ storm  • ~most adjective  II. noun  Date: 1950  1. capitalized the dialect of English spoken in the part of the United States north of a line running northwest through central New Jersey, below the ~ tier of counties in Pennsylvania, through ~ Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, across central Iowa, and through the northwest corner of South Dakota  2. pike III,1a