south

[n., adj., adv. south; v. south, south] /n., adj., adv. saʊθ; v. saʊθ, saʊð/

noun

a cardinal point of the compass lying directly opposite north.

Abbreviation: S.

the direction in which this point lies.

(usually initial capital letter) a region or territory situated in this direction.

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

lying toward or situated in the south; directed or proceeding toward the south.

coming from the south, as a wind.

adverb

to, toward, or in the south.

Informal. into a state of serious decline, loss, or the like:

Sales went south during the recession.

verb (used without object)

to turn or move in a southerly direction.

10.

Astronomy. to cross the meridian.

Origin

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

Examples from the web for south

Orient your bed north-south for maximum sun exposure.
The jet streams tend to dip farther south in winter and move more to the north in summer, following the movement of the sun.
On the south side an arm has shot out from which rise two stems, each to about ninety-one or ninety-two feet from the ground.
Males forage more widely and more to the south than females, who prefer northern waters.
So they put butterflies in a flight simulator and tried to convince them to fly south.
Those with their antennae intact had no problem orienting and flying south.
In the south winters are cool but sunny, but as one moves further north temperatures drop and snow falls.
For the last nations of the birds have gathered in flocks and gone south, and the coast has no more song.
Fund managers get bonuses at the end of each year, and they keep those performance fees even if the fund eventually goes south.
And right-handed ones are more common in the south, according to a new survey.

British Dictionary definitions for south

south

/saʊθ/

noun

one of the four cardinal points of the compass, at 180° from north and 90° clockwise from east and anticlockwise from west

the direction along a meridian towards the South Pole

(often capital) the south, any area lying in or towards the south related adjectives meridional austral

(usually capital) (cards) the player or position at the table corresponding to south on the compass

adjective

situated in, moving towards, or facing the south

(esp of the wind) from the south

adverb

in, to, or towards the south

(archaic) (of the wind) from the south

Word Origin

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

South

/saʊθ/

noun the South

the southern part of England, generally regarded as lying to the south of an imaginary line between the Wash and the Severn

(in the US)

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
the Confederacy itself

the countries of the world that are not economically and technically advanced

adjective

of or denoting the southern part of a specified country, area, etc
(capital as part of a name): the South Pacific

Word Origin and History for south

adv.

Old English suð "southward, to the south, southern, in the south," from Proto-Germanic *sunthaz, perhaps literally "sun-side" (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian suth "southward, in the south," Middle Dutch suut, Dutch zuid, German Süden), and related to base of *sunnon "sun" (see sun (v.)). Old French sur, sud (French sud), Spanish sur, sud are loan-words from Germanic, perhaps from Old Norse suðr.

As an adjective from c.1300; as a noun, "one of the four cardinal points," also "southern region of a country," both late 13c. The Southern states of the U.S. have been collectively called The South since 1779 (in early use this often referred only to Georgia and South Carolina). South country in Britain means the part below the Tweed, in England the part below the Wash, and in Scotland the part below the Forth. South Sea meant "the Mediterranean" (late 14c.) and "the English Channel" (early 15c.) before it came to mean (in plural) "the South Pacific Ocean" (1520s). The nautical coat called a sou'wester (1836) protects the wearer against severe weather, such as a gale out of the southwest.

Slang definitions & phrases for south

South

Related Terms

a mouth full of south

south in the Bible

Heb. Negeb, that arid district to the south of Palestine through which lay the caravan route from Central Palestine to Egypt (Gen. 12:9; 13:1, 3; 46:1-6). "The Negeb comprised a considerable but irregularly-shaped tract of country, its main portion stretching from the mountains and lowlands of Judah in the north to the mountains of Azazemeh in the south, and from the Dead Sea and southern Ghoron the east to the Mediterranean on the west." In Ezek. 20:46 (21:1 in Heb.) three different Hebrew words are all rendered "south." (1) "Set thy face toward the south" (Teman, the region on the right, 1 Sam. 33:24); (2) "Drop thy word toward the south" (Negeb, the region of dryness, Josh. 15:4); (3) "Prophesy against the forest of the south field" (Darom, the region of brightness, Deut. 33:23). In Job 37:9 the word "south" is literally "chamber," used here in the sense of treasury (comp. 38:22; Ps. 135:7). This verse is rendered in the Revised Version "out of the chamber of the south."

Idioms and Phrases with south

south

see: go south