southern

CEFRB1

/ˈsʌðən/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    In or relating to the south part of a place.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly.

Examples

  • Past the west coasts of Europe and Africa to the tip of southern Africa.

  • The house has a southern aspect.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Also pronounced

  • /ˈsaʊ.təɹn/
  • /ˈsaʊðɚn/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings
  1. Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe or the southern United States.

  2. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.

noun

Extra meaning
  1. Synonym of southerner.

More examples

In context
  • The southern slopes of the mountains

  • But although Southern cooking makes use of a cornucopia of vegetables, it also typically includes generous portions of meat and fried chicken. Even vegetable dishes and breads are often cooked with animal fat: Greens are fried in bacon grease …

  • The southern climate.

Quick test

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The blank hemisphere experiences summer in December, while the northern hemisphere experiences winter.

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Nearby

Origin

adjective

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.