Southern

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsʌðə(r)n/

Origin

From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne ("southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make"), from Proto-Germanic *sunþra ("southwards"), from Proto-Indo-European *sun-, *swen- ("sun"). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron ("southern"), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern ("southern"), Middle Low German sūdern ("southern"), Middle High German sundern ("southern"), Icelandic súðrænn ("southern, tropical"). More at south.

Full definition of southern

Adjective

1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
2. Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe or the southern United States.
• 2013-06-08, The new masters and commanders, From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much....  But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
3. The southern climate.
4. Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly.

Synonyms

• austral
• meridional

Antonyms

• northern
• boreal
• septentrional