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• southern
  southern

  adjective

  lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the south.
• Southern
  Southern

  noun

  Terry, 1924–95, U.S. novelist and screenwriter.

southern

¹ American  

[suhth-ern] / ˈsʌð ərn /

adjective

1. lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the south.

2. coming from the south, as a wind.

3. of or relating to the south.

4. Southern, of or relating to the South of the United States.

5. Astronomy. Southern, being or located south of the celestial equator or of the zodiac.

   a southern constellation.

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noun

1. Often Southern southerner.

2. Southern, the dialect of English spoken in the eastern parts of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, in Florida, in the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and in southeastern Texas.

Southern ² American  

[suhth-ern] / ˈsʌð ərn /

noun

1. Terry, 1924–95, U.S. novelist and screenwriter.

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southern ¹ British  

/ ˈsʌðən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards the south

2. (of a wind, etc) coming from the south

3. native to, inhabiting, or growing in the south

4. (sometimes capital) astronomy south of the celestial equator

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Southern ² British  

/ ˈsʌðən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the south of a particular region or country

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Etymology

Origin of southern

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sūtherne; see south, -ern

Explanation

Southern means from the south, like a southern breeze. But if you call a group of people “y’all,” you might be Southern, a word which refers to the American South and usually gets a capital “S” — and a side of hush puppies. A southern breeze happens when wind is moving from the south to the north, and the Southern Hemisphere is south of the equator. When southern refers to the direction, it’s not capitalized; when it's used in the name of specific place, however, it is capitalized. Southern comes from south, which derives from a Germanic word meaning "sun-side."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

southern Southern

Heavy rain over several days caused significant flooding along the White River, which flows through Indianapolis and central and southern Indiana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Their closest living populations are now nearly 2,500 km away in southern Mexico, indicating that the species once occupied a dramatically different geographic range.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Lala strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Saturday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, as it approached the southern end of the Big Island.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

It later reported a strike on the southern town of Deir Zahrani.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Their spacious home served as an underground railroad station assisting enslaved men, women, and children escaping from southern states into Canada.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Southern Syria is vulnerable to terrorist activity; such groups have operated near the Israeli border before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Hammerhead sharks typically prefer warmer waters than those found in Southern California, and the last sighting near the coast was over a decade ago, according to the iNaturalist species-sighting database.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

“Especially in new developments, you have all these surprises, because everything is brand new,” Miklos Ringbauer, founder of MiklosCPA, a Southern California-based accounting and tax advisory company, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

The prosecutor handling the case for the Southern District of Florida also didn’t respond to questions.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

He was really good and played in the Negro American League...or maybe it was the Negro Southern League?

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone