southwest

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

Also spelled south-west

US /saʊθˈwɛst/ See IPA manual

Freq #10852

Meanings

1

noun
The compass point halfway between south and west.

The faint purple line of the hills lay off to the southwest.
2

adv
Toward or in the direction of the southwest.

We are travelling southwest at the moment.
3

adj
Located in, facing, or coming from the southwest.

A southwest wind brought warmer air.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adv · toward or in the direction... south-west

3 adj · located in, facing, or... southwesterly southwestern

Word family

Forms southwestward

Related forms southwestern

Etymology

From Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst.

southwest Middle English sūþwest Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# southwest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adv, adj
**IPA (US):** /saʊθˈwɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 10852

## Meanings
1. The compass point halfway between south and west.
2. Toward or in the direction of the southwest.
3. Located in, facing, or coming from the southwest.

## Examples
- The faint purple line of the hills lay off to the southwest.
- We are travelling southwest at the moment.
- A southwest wind brought warmer air.

## Related Forms
- southwestern

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: southwest
- Root: sūþwest

## Etymology
From Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst.

## AI Etymology
Southwest is from Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst. Important forms in the word's history include Middle English southwest, Old English sūþwest. In current use it includes senses such as The compass point halfway between south and west and Toward or in the direction of the southwest.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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