northing

American  

[nawr-thing, -thing] / ˈnɔr θɪŋ, -ðɪŋ /

noun

Navigation.

1. northward movement or deviation.

2. distance due north made on any course tending northward.

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northing British  

/ ˈnɔːθɪŋ, -ðɪŋ /

noun

1. nautical movement or distance covered in a northerly direction, esp as expressed in the resulting difference in latitude

2. astronomy a north or positive declination

3. cartography

   1. the distance northwards of a point from a given parallel indicated by the second half of a map grid reference

   2. a latitudinal grid line Compare easting

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Etymology

Origin of northing

First recorded in 1660–70; north + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

northing

In navigation, implies the distance made good towards the south: the opposite of northing.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher

Tramped round to ther old stone quarry one way, but didn't see northing.

From Frank Merriwell's Cruise by Burt L. Standish

Our latitude, by the sun's meridian altitude at midnight, was 81° 23'; so that we had made only eight miles of northing since our last observation at noon on the 25th.

From Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2 by Sir William Edward Parry

The seed-time sacrifice was linked up with the southing or northing of some prominent star.

From A Short History of the World by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

He swung her about, a ticklish feat, and paralleled the beach to the north, and just off the beach, after an hour of northing, he spied the distress signals—two, three, yes, and four big torches.

From Wide Courses by James B. (James Brendan) Connolly