southern

southern — adjective

1. describes a place, area, or direction that is located in, faces toward, or comes

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

describes a place, area, or direction that is located in, faces toward, or comes from the south side of a country, region, or other area.

Example

Christopher's family moved from the northern city to a southern coastal town.

contrastive use: from northern to southern

The southern entrance to the park is closed for repairs this week.

attributive: southern entrance

Common collocations
  • southern coast
  • southern region
  • southern part
  • southern border
  • southern entrance
  • southern edge
  • southern state
  • southern province
Synonyms
  • south

    used as an adjective mainly in fixed geographical labels (the south coast, the south side); less common in everyday description

  • southerly

    more formal and often used for wind direction or in weather reports; can sound technical in casual conversation

  • southward

    focuses on movement towards the south rather than location or origin

Antonyms
  • northern

    the opposite directional pole — refers to the north side of an area

Grammar Patterns

southern + noun

be + southern

Usage Note

Southern is often capitalised when it is part of a recognised place name, such as Southern California or the Southern Hemisphere. Use a lowercase s for general directional descriptions.

Common Mistakes

I live in Southern Taiwan.
I live in southern Taiwan.
Capitalise Southern only when it forms part of an official or widely recognised proper name.

2. relates to wind, air, or weather that originates in the south and moves northwar

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

relates to wind, air, or weather that originates in the south and moves northward — most often found before nouns like wind, breeze, or storm.

Example

A southern wind brought warm air from the desert across the valley.

collocation: southern wind

The sailors welcomed the southern breeze after days of still weather.

collocation: southern breeze

Common collocations
  • southern wind
  • southern breeze
  • southern air
  • southern storm
  • southern current
Synonyms
  • southerly

    preferred in predicative position (the wind is southerly) and common in formal weather reports

Antonyms
  • northern

    refers to wind or air coming from the north

Grammar Patterns

southern + wind / breeze / air / storm

Usage Note

This sense is almost exclusively used before weather-related nouns such as wind, breeze, air, or storm. It rarely appears predicatively (avoid 'the wind is southern' — use southerly instead).

Common Mistakes

The wind is southern today.
The wind is southerly today.' or 'A southern wind is blowing today.
Use southerly for predicative position or keep southern before the noun.

Word family

  • south
    nounA1
  • south
    adverbA2
  • southerly
    adjectiveB2
  • southerly
    adverbB2
  • southernmost
    adjectiveC1
  • southerner
    nounB2
  • southward
    adverbB2
  • southward
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Southern is the most general adjective for describing a location, direction, or origin connected to the south. South functions as an adjective mainly in fixed geographical labels such as 'the south coast' or 'the south side' — it is more compact but less flexible than southern. Southerly carries a more formal or technical tone and is the standard choice in weather reports ('a southerly wind') and in predicative position ('the wind is southerly'). Southward specifically emphasises movement or orientation toward the south ('a southward journey'), so it does not work for describing where something is located. For everyday use, southern is the safest and most natural choice for most contexts.

southern ↗south ↗southerlysouthward

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the South

Adverbs

  • further south
  • more southern
  • most southern

Phrases

  • southern hemisphere
  • down south

Prepositions

  • in the south
  • to the south
  • from the south

Etymology

Old EnglishGermanicEnglish

Southern comes from Old English sūþerne, a combination of sūþ ('south') and the suffix -erne (meaning 'belonging to' or 'originating from'). It has relatives in Old High German sundrōni and Gothic sunþrōnis, all pointing to a common Germanic root. The word has described location and origin in the south since before the 12th century.