southerly

American  

[suhth-er-lee] / ˈsʌð ər li /

adjective

1. toward the south.

   a southerly course.

2. (especially of a wind) coming from the south.

   a gentle southerly breeze.

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noun

plural

southerlies

1. a wind that blows from the south.

southerly British  

/ ˈsʌðəlɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated in the south

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adverb

1. towards or in the direction of the south

2. from the south

   a southerly wind

noun

1. a wind from the south

Other Word Forms

• southerliness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of southerly

1545–55; south + -erly ( see easterly)

Example Sentences

Any southerly will drag in the increasingly warm air from the Mediterranean, potentially boosting temperatures into the high twenties.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

The warmth came courtesy of a flow of southerly winds from continental Europe.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Temperatures are warming up quickly across North Africa and the Mediterranean and with any southerly wind in the UK, that air is drawn up from the south, boosting our temperatures.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

These dust events usually occur a few times each year, most often in late winter and spring when southerly winds draw warm air north from the deserts of North Africa.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

They bathed in a curve of the Susquehanna and then wandered in a southerly direction, keeping to fields, woods, stream beds, and little-used paths, headed, they thought, for Virginia, where Macon believed they had people.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison