'North' likely meant 'left' in PIE — because when you face the rising sun, north is on your left.
The direction along a meridian toward the North Pole, opposite to south; one of the four cardinal compass points.
From Old English 'norþ' (north), from Proto-Germanic *nurþaz, of uncertain ultimate PIE origin though likely related to *ner- meaning 'left, below' — since north is to the left when facing the rising sun, i.e., east. The same root appears in Old Norse 'norðr,' Old Frisian 'north,' Old Saxon 'north,' and Old High German 'nord.' An alternative PIE connection to *ner- (under, beneath) may
The word 'Norway' literally means 'the north way' — Old Norse 'Norvegr' — referring to the sailing route along the country's western coast. The Norse people themselves were 'north-men,' which also gave us 'Norman,' making Normandy in France a region named after Viking settlers from the north.