southern
UK /ˈsʌðən/ · US /ˈsʌðɚn/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms southernmost southerns Sotheran Sothern Sotheron Southan Southerin Southon Southorn Sudran Sudron Sutherin Suthern Sutherns
- adjective Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe or the southern United States. “The southern climate.”
- adjective Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly.
- noun Synonym of southerner.
- adjective From or pertaining to the southern part of any region.
- adjective (chiefly US) From or pertaining to the South, the south-eastern states of the United States, southern portions of some other states (e.g., Southern California), or to the inhabitants or culture of that region.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”).
By surface analysis, south + -ern.
English surname, from the adjective southern. Often used as a northern English nickname for someone from the south of the country, or as a Scottish nickname for an Englishman.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to the south; situated in, or proceeding from, the south; situated or proceeding toward the south. Southern Cross (Astron.), a constellation of the southern hemisphere containing several bright stars so related in position as to resemble a cross.
- noun A Southerner. [R.]
Etymology [AS. s. See South.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “southern”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details