southern

[ suhth -ern ]

/ ˈsʌð ərn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR southern ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

coming from the south, as a wind.

of or relating to the south.

(initial capital letter) of or relating to the South of the United States.

Astronomy. being or located south of the celestial equator or of the zodiac: a southern constellation.

noun

(often initial capital letter) southerner(def 2).

(initial capital letter) 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.

RELATED WORDS

austral, meridional, southerly, midi

Nearby words

southeastwards, southend-on-sea, souther, southerly, southerly buster, southern, southern alps, southern baptist, southern blight, southern blot, southern blot analysis

Origin of southern

before 900; Middle English; Old English sūtherne. See south, -ern

Definition for southern (2 of 2)

Southern

[ suhth -ern ]

/ ˈsʌð ərn /

noun

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

Related formspro-South·ern, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for southern

In Afghanistan, there was a push to take back the southern province Helmand.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Although Southern did not automatically equal neo-Confederate, at times the distinction could easily get lost.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Rather, it was the Democrats who initially were the Southern Party.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We see the Southern segregationists who threatened his life and that of his family on an almost daily basis.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, summed up the Southern attitude in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern|Lloyd Green|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He rebuilt the fortifications of Megiddo, thus securing the control of the network of roads which traversed Southern Syria.
History Of Egypt, Chalda, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 6 (of 12)|G. Maspero
It is a bird of passage, visiting its customary breeding places in the summer and wintering in southern Europe.
Natural History in Anecdote|Various
A secondary result would be a considerable power development and a source of domestic water supply for southern California.
State of the Union Addresses of Calvin Coolidge|Calvin Coolidge
We know of no similar articles in historic times in Baja California, nor to the north in southern California.
A Burial Cave in Baja California|William C. Massey
Some after noon we steamed past a small city on the southern coast which had a large natural harbor.
Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 1, October, 1884|Various

British Dictionary definitions for southern (1 of 2)

southern

/ (ˈsʌðən) /

adjective

situated in or towards the south

(of a wind, etc) coming from the south

native to, inhabiting, or growing in the south

(sometimes capital) astronomy south of the celestial equator

British Dictionary definitions for southern (2 of 2)

Southern

/ (ˈsʌðən) /

adjective

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

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 southern

southern

Old English suðerne, from suð "south" (see south) + -erne, suffix denoting direction. A common Germanic compound, cf. Old Frisian suthern, Old Norse suðroenn, Old High German sundroni.

southern

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of southern

Definition for southern (2 of 2)

Southern

noun

Examples from the Web for southern

British Dictionary definitions for southern (1 of 2)

southern

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for southern (2 of 2)

Southern

adjective

Word Origin and History for southern

southern