southern

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsʌðɚn/ UK /ˈsʌðən/ See IPA manual

Freq #3659

Meanings

1

adj
Located in or facing the south.

The house has a southern exposure, so it gets plenty of sun.
2

adj
Coming from or belonging to a region in the south.

Penguins live in the southern hemisphere.
3

adj
Relating to the southern United States and its culture.

The restaurant is famous for its warm southern hospitality.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · located in or facing the... southerly

More austral meridional

Opposites

boreal northern septentrional

Word family

Forms southernmost

Derived forms nonsouthernpaleosouthernsouthernificationsouthernisationsouthernisesouthernishsouthernismsouthernistsouthernizationsouthernizesouthernlysouthernmost

Appears in

Etymology

From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”). By surface analysis, south + -ern.

southerne Middle English sūþerne Old English *sunþrōnijaz Proto-Germanic

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Describing Qualities

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# southern

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsʌðɚn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsʌðən/
**Frequency rank:** 3659

## Meanings
1. Located in or facing the south.
2. Coming from or belonging to a region in the south.
3. Relating to the southern United States and its culture.

## Examples
- The house has a southern exposure, so it gets plenty of sun.
- Penguins live in the southern hemisphere.
- The restaurant is famous for its warm southern hospitality.

## Synonyms
- austral
- meridional
- southerly

## Antonyms
- boreal
- northern
- septentrional

## Derived Forms
- nonsouthern
- paleosouthern
- southernification
- southernisation
- southernise
- southernish
- southernism
- southernist
- southernization
- southernize
- southernly
- southernmost

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: southerne
- Root: sūþerne
- Root: *sunþrōnijaz

## Etymology
From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”). By surface analysis, south + -ern.

## AI Etymology
Southern is from Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”). By surface analysis, south + -ern. Important forms in the word's history include Middle English southerne, Old English sūþerne, Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz. In current use it includes senses such as Located in or facing the south and Coming from or belonging to a region in the south.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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southern

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