north northwest vs NNW

north northwest and NNW both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
north northwest	Yes	No	No	No
NNW	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, north northwest and NNW are synonyms defined as:

north northwest and NNW: the compass point that is midway between north and northwest

Other synonyms of north northwest include nor'-nor'-west.

north northwest (noun)	NNW (noun)
the compass point that is midway between north and northwest	the compass point that is midway between north and northwest