southerly

[ suhth -er-lee ]

/ ˈsʌð ər li /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR southerly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, adverb

toward the south: a southerly course.

(especially of a wind) coming from the south: a gentle southerly breeze.

noun, plural south·er·lies.

a wind that blows from the south.

RELATED WORDS

austral, meridional, midi

Nearby words

southeastward, southeastwardly, southeastwards, southend-on-sea, souther, southerly, southerly buster, southern, southern alps, southern baptist, southern blight

Origin of southerly

1545–55; south + -erly (see easterly)

Related formssouth·er·li·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for southerly

While we were at breakfast a southerly squall burst open the kitchen door.
A Poor Man's House|Stephen Sydney Reynolds
The southerly winds are warm at all seasons if blowing hard, but very cold if blowing lightly in winter.
Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory|Lucien Turner
Starting from the mills at Livermore, a logging-road is followed nearly two miles on the southerly side of Sawyers River.
The Heart of the White Mountains, Their Legend and Scenery|Samuel Adams Drake
At first he struck across the waterways in a southerly direction and for awhile Jan and the others were able to keep him in sight.
The Laughing Cavalier|Baroness Orczy

By taking a southerly route, and going up the Gulf of Tarentum, this distance might be traversed wholly by sea.
Pyrrhus|Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for southerly

southerly

/ (ˈsʌðəlɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or situated in the south

adverb, adjective

towards or in the direction of the south

from the southa southerly wind

noun plural -lies

a wind from the south

Derived Formssoutherliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for southerly

southerly

1550s (adj.); 1570s (adv.); from southern + -ly. Related: Southerliness.