western vs northwestern

western is a noun but northwestern is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
western	Yes	Yes	No	No
northwestern	No	Yes	No	No

western (noun)	northwestern (noun)
a sandwich made from a western omelet

western (adjective)	northwestern (adjective)
relating to or characteristic of the western parts of the world or the West as opposed to the eastern or oriental parts	situated in or oriented toward the northwest
of or characteristic of regions of the United States west of the Mississippi River	of a region of the United States generally including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and sometimes Montana, Wyoming
lying toward or situated in the west
of wind; from the west