southing

American  

[sou-thing] / ˈsaʊ ðɪŋ /

noun

1. Astronomy.

   1. the transit of a heavenly body across the celestial meridian.

   2. south declination.

2. movement or deviation toward the south.

3. distance due south made by a vessel.

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southing British  

/ ˈsaʊðɪŋ /

noun

1. nautical movement, deviation, or distance covered in a southerly direction

2. astronomy a south or negative declination

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Etymology

Origin of southing

First recorded in 1650–60; south + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

southing

Consequently the southing bergs must have piled up on the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts, as though Jack Frost and King Neptune, bored with spring gambling, had laid aside their sea dice.

From Time Magazine Archive

But after a few weeks of content the southing spirit again seized upon the old male who had hitherto been the unquestioned leader.

From Kings in Exile by Roberts, Charles George Douglas, Sir

We had not made much southing, but we expected to find the western side of Sweden much warmer than the eastern.

From Northern Travel Summer and Winter Pictures of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland by Taylor, Bayard

The more southing they have in them, the less moisture, until the extreme south-eastern portion of Texas, or the country near the mouth of the Rio Grande, is one of almost constant drought.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 3, March, 1862 by Various

Are not the periods of those diurnal diseases more obstinate, that commence many hours before the southing or northing of the moon, than of those which commence at those times?

From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus