south

[south, south, south]

noun

1. a cardinal point of the compass lying directly opposite north. S

2. the direction in which this point lies.

3. (usually initial capital letter),  a region or territory situated in this direction.

4. the South, the general area south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, consisting mainly of those states that formed the Confederacy.

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the south; directed or proceeding toward the south.

2. coming from the south, as a wind.

adverb

1. to, toward, or in the south.

2. Informal.,  into a state of serious decline, loss, or the like.

   Sales went south during the recession.

verb (used without object)

1. to turn or move in a southerly direction.

2. Astronomy.,  to cross the meridian.

South

¹

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. the southern part of England, generally regarded as lying to the south of an imaginary line between the Wash and the Severn

2. 1. the area approximately south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, esp those states south of the Mason-Dixon line that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War

   2. the Confederacy itself

3. the countries of the world that are not economically and technically advanced

adjective

1. 1. of or denoting the southern part of a specified country, area, etc

   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the South Pacific

south

²

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. one of the four cardinal points of the compass, at 180° from north and 90° clockwise from east and anticlockwise from west

2. the direction along a meridian towards the South Pole

3. (often capital) any area lying in or towards the south

4. (usually capital) cards the player or position at the table corresponding to south on the compass

adjective

1. situated in, moving towards, or facing the south

2. (esp of the wind) from the south

adverb

1. in, to, or towards the south

2. archaic,  (of the wind) from the south

Word History and Origins

Origin of south¹

before 900; Middle English suth ( e ), south ( e ) (adv., adj., and noun), Old English sūth (adv. and adj.); cognate with Old High German sund-

Word History and Origins

Origin of south¹

Old English sūth; related to Old Norse suthr southward, Old High German sundan from the south

Idioms and Phrases

see go south.

Example Sentences

“The big challenge for us as architects is to create the incentives for people to move along, and not leave town and move further south.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Saturday morning in a back street in south London - and I am leaning on a metal railing.

Read more on BBC

In Las Vegas, the company acquired 66 acres of land on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the airport for a surf-centric development.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some 44,000 security forces have been deployed across the country of 30 million to keep protests in check, especially in former opposition fiefdoms in the south and west.

Read more on Barron's

Then in 2002 a military uprising effectively cut the country in two, with rebels holding the north and the army retaining control of the south.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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• icy