northmost

Northmost is an English adjective describing something located at the furthest point toward the north within a defined area, list, or set. It denotes the extreme northern position, and is commonly used with nouns such as point, edge, town, or boundary. The more widely used variant in contemporary writing is northernmost; northmost occurs less frequently but is still understood as the equivalent superlative.

From north + most, the form is attested in Middle English; modern style guides generally prefer northernmost. Northmost may be considered archaic or regional, and some contexts permit both, with northernmost favored in formal writing and northmost acceptable in descriptive prose or in scientific geographic descriptions.

In practice, you might see sentences like: "The northmost settlement on the archipelago lies near the glacier." or "The northmost tip of the peninsula is a rugged headland." When comparing multiple locations, lists may label items from north to south using "northmost," "middle," and "southmost" though such usage is uncommon; "northernmost" remains the standard form for most written works.

The adjective is closely related to northern and northernmost; in scientific, cartographic, and navigational writing, northernmost is the preferred spelling in many style guides. See also northernmost, far north, extreme north, polar region.