southern

1 of 2

adjective

south·​ern ˈsə-t͟hərn How to pronounce southern (audio)
1
capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated South
2
a
: lying toward the south
b
: coming from the south
a southern wind
southernness noun often capitalized

Southern

2 of 2

noun

: the dialect of English spoken in most of the Chesapeake Bay area, the coastal plain and the greater part of the upland plateau in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and the Gulf states at least as far west as the valley of the Brazos in Texas and sometimes taken to include the south Midland area

Examples of southern in a Sentence

Adjective the southern part of the state the southern shore of the lake
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The 50- and 100-mile courses will allow riders to venture through southern Missouri, according to the Big Sugar Classic website. Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2025 Last month, in a special election, voters in southern Arizona chose Adelita Grijalva to succeed her late father in Congress. Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025 Gottschalck said that warmer-than-normal temperatures are most likely for California, the southern Great Basin, the southern Rockies, the Southwest eastward to Texas, the Southeast and the coastal mid-Atlantic. Doyle Rice, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025 The holy river Ganges skirts the district’s southern border. Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for southern

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English southern, southren, from Old English sūtherne; akin to Old High German sundrōni southern, Old English sūth south

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of southern was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Southern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southern. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

southern

adjective
south·​ern ˈsət͟h-ərn How to pronounce southern (audio)
1
capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of the South
2
: lying toward or coming from the south
southernmost adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on southern

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