south

[ noun adjective adverb south; verb south, south ]

noun

1. a cardinal point of the compass lying directly opposite north. : S
2. the direction in which this point lies.
3. (usually initial capital letter) a region or territory situated in this direction.
4. the South, the general area south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, consisting mainly of those states that formed the Confederacy.

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the south; directed or proceeding toward the south.
2. coming from the south, as a wind.

adverb

1. to, toward, or in the south.
2. Informal. into a state of serious decline, loss, or the like:

   Sales went south during the recession.

verb (used without object)

1. to turn or move in a southerly direction.
2. Astronomy. to cross the meridian.

South

¹

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. the southern part of England, generally regarded as lying to the south of an imaginary line between the Wash and the Severn
2. in the US
   1. the area approximately south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, esp those states south of the Mason-Dixon line that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War
   2. the Confederacy itself
3. the countries of the world that are not economically and technically advanced

adjective

1. 1. of or denoting the southern part of a specified country, area, etc
   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the South Pacific

south

²

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. one of the four cardinal points of the compass, at 180° from north and 90° clockwise from east and anticlockwise from west
2. the direction along a meridian towards the South Pole
3. the south
   often capital any area lying in or towards the south meridionalaustral
4. usually capital cards the player or position at the table corresponding to south on the compass

adjective

1. situated in, moving towards, or facing the south
2. (esp of the wind) from the south

adverb

1. in, to, or towards the south
2. archaic.
   (of the wind) from the south

Word History and Origins

Origin of south¹

before 900; Middle English suth ( e ), south ( e ) (adv., adj., and noun), Old English sūth (adv. and adj.); cognate with Old High German sund-

Word History and Origins

Origin of south¹

Old English sūth; related to Old Norse suthr southward, Old High German sundan from the south

Idioms and Phrases

see go south .

Example Sentences

The one with the white people to the north or the one with the darker people to the south?

From Salon

The Thomas family company was launched as Thomas Pies in the 1950s, selling sausage rolls, pies and pasties around the south Wales valleys.

From BBC

This is an offence to the demands of the global south.

From BBC

Though dramatic in nomenclature, a bomb cyclone is a low pressure system found north of the tropics and south of the Arctic that deepens, or intensifies, very rapidly over a 24-hour period.

From Los Angeles Times

Significant rainfall isn’t expected in the Bay Area itself and points south until Friday, but forecasts are increasingly showing that much of the state will see at least some precipitation by early next week.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• freezing
• frigid
• glacial
• icy