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southerly

[suhth -er-lee]
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adjective, adverb
  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 south·er·lies.
  1. a wind that blows from the south.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for southerly

Historical Examples

  • Formerly rare, now abundant in all the southerly third of the Park.

    Wild Animals at Home

    Ernest Thompson Seton

  • Unexpected results had ensued from these trips in a southerly direction.

  • Southerly, in North latitude; the reverse in the Southern hemisphere.

  • They noted, however, that the party started in a southerly direction.

  • The adventurers had long passed the most southerly point of Spanish influence.

    Sea-Dogs All!

    Tom Bevan

British Dictionary definitions for southerly

southerly

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or situated in the south
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adverb, adjective
  1. towards or in the direction of the south
  2. from the southa southerly wind
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noun plural -lies
  1. a wind from the south
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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

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper