southpaw
noun
Did you know?
Southpaw is of obscure origin. A popular theory holds that it comes from the onetime position of ballparks in relation to the sun. Supposedly, late 19th-century ballparks were laid out so that the pitcher looked in a westerly direction when facing the batter. The throwing arm of a left-handed pitcher would then be to the south-hence the name southpaw. This theory of its origin is undermined, however, by the fact that the original use of southpaw does not involve baseball at all. Rather, the term was used as early as 1848 to describe, simply, the left hand or a punch or blow given with the left hand. Today, we often use southpaw as a good-natured term for a left-handed person, but the word is sometimes viewed as stigmatizing by left-handed people.
Examples of southpaw in a Sentence
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
But nobody has been more important to the team's success than ace southpaw Garrett Crochet, who has performed like a Cy Young Award contender this season.
—Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Against southpaws of all stripes, no team has a lower batting average than the Giants’ .212 mark.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
Maybe the Mets piled up low-scoring wins against southpaws early in the season, when their pitching was leading the league in ERA; New York has been 5-5, 10-10 and 13-13 against lefties this year.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Southpaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southpaw. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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southpaw
noun
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