From Dutch 'noorsch' (northern), cognate with 'north' — both from PIE *hner-, 'left when facing sunrise.'
The North Germanic language spoken by the Scandinavian peoples during the Viking Age (c. 700–1100 CE), also called Old Norse; by extension, the people and culture of medieval Scandinavia.
From Dutch 'noorsch' (Norwegian, northern), an adjective formed from 'noord' (north). The Dutch form entered English in the late sixteenth century during the era of intense English-Dutch maritime contact. The ultimate source is Proto-Germanic *nurþraz (northern), from PIE *h₁ner- (under, below, left) — 'north' being the direction to the left when facing the rising sun. An older
English borrowed the word 'Norse' from Dutch rather than from Old Norse itself. The Old Norse speakers' own word for their language and people was 'norrœnt mál' (northern speech) or 'dǫnsk tunga' (Danish tongue) — they considered all Scandinavian dialects a single language. Ironically, the English word for this famously Scandinavian concept arrived via the Netherlands.