[Vocabulary] north,northern or northerly?

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gary17

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Example sentence:
The settlement was the ( ) point of the district and was quite isolated.
(a) most north
(b) northern
(c) northerly
(d) most northerly

I think "northerly" is seldom used to describe a location and "northern" in this case seems a bit weird.
Using "most north" in this sentence just doesn't sound right.
Maybe "northernmost" would be a better answer?
 

5jj

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Amigos4

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Example sentence:
The settlement was the ( ) point of the district and was quite isolated.
(a) most north
(b) northern
(c) northerly
(d) most northerly

I think "northerly" is seldom used to describe a location and "northern" in this case seems a bit weird.
Using "most north" in this sentence just doesn't sound right.
Maybe "northernmost" would be a better answer?
I don't see "northernmost" as one of your choices!
 

emsr2d2

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I don't see "northernmost" as one of your choices!

I think that's the point the OP was making with "Maybe "northernmost" would be a ​better answer".
 

gary17

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What about "most northerly" in this sentence?
I seldom see the word "northerly" used in writing... is it archaic?
 

Jaskin

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hi,
Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker;

I'd go for remote or far instead of most as superlatives of distance.

the remotest northern point of the district
the remotest north point of the district
the far north point of the district
the furtherest northern point of the district
the furtherest north point of the district

Does any of it sound natural ?

just checked in BNC for the phrases +point
(a) most north (0 )
(b) northern (2 hits)
(c) northerly (0 )
(d) most northerly (6 hits)
Cheers
 
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Rover_KE

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What about "most northerly" in this sentence? That is the best choice in that sentence.

I seldom see the word "northerly" used in writing... is it archaic? Not at all — it's very common. 'Northerly wind', 'northerly direction' etc.

Rover
 

Raymott

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hi,
Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker;

I'd go for remote or far instead of most as superlatives of distance.

the remotest northern point of the district
the remotest north point of the district
the far north point of the district
the[STRIKE] furtherest[/STRIKE] northern point of the district Furthest, farthest.
the [STRIKE]furtherest[/STRIKE] north point of the district
Some of these are problematic, and none is better than "the most northerly point of the district".
"Remotest" could be wrong. There may be a few remote northern points in the district. The most remote might not be the most northern.
"Furthest" also potentially has this problem. Note: it's not furtherest.
"The far north point" isn't a superlative.

furtherest - Wiktionary
 

MikeNewYork

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Example sentence:
The settlement was the ( ) point of the district and was quite isolated.
(a) most north
(b) northern
(c) northerly
(d) most northerly

I think "northerly" is seldom used to describe a location and "northern" in this case seems a bit weird.
Using "most north" in this sentence just doesn't sound right.
Maybe "northernmost" would be a better answer?

I know it wasn't an option (a mistake in the question), but I cast my vote with those who have suggested "northermost".
 

probus

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I know it wasn't an option (a mistake in the question), but I cast my vote with those who have suggested "northermost".

Me too. Northernmost.
 
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emsr2d2

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Northernmost.
 
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