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Added 8 October 2026

southern

/ˈsʌðən/ adjective

In Latin: merīdiōnālis, austrālis Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about southern at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe or the southern United States.
The southern climate.
Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly.

noun

Synonym of southerner.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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