Vocabulary     

What does South mean?

Definitions for South
saʊθ; saʊðsouth

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word South.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Southnoun

    the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line

  2. Confederacy, Confederate States, Confederate States of America, South, Dixie, Dixielandnoun

    the southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861

  3. south, due south, southward, Snoun

    the cardinal compass point that is at 180 degrees

  4. southnoun

    a location in the southern part of a country, region, or city

  5. southadjective

    the direction corresponding to the southward cardinal compass point

  6. southadverb

    situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the south

    "the south entrance"

  7. south, to the south, in the southadverb

    in a southern direction

    "we moved south"

Wiktionary

  1. southnoun

    One of the four major compass points, specifically 180°, directed toward the South Pole, and conventionally downwards on a map.

  2. southadverb

    Toward the south; southward.

  3. southadverb

    Downward.

  4. southadverb

    In an adverse direction or trend.

  5. southadverb

    Of wind, from the south.

  6. southadjective

    Toward the south; southward.

  7. southadjective

    Of wind, from the south.

  8. southadjective

    Of or pertaining to the south; southern.

  9. southadjective

    Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by southbound traffic.

    south highway 1

  10. Southnoun

    Those states which formed the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

  11. Southnoun

    The south-eastern states of the United States, including more or less the same states as formed the Confederacy.

  12. Southnoun

    The southern part of any region.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Southadjective

    Southern; meridional.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    One inch of delay more is a south sea off discovery. William Shakespeare.

    How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind. Job xxxvii. 17.

    Mean while the south wind rose, and with black wings
    Wide hovering, all the clouds together drove. John Milton.

  2. Southadverb

    His regiment lies half a mile
    South from the mighty power of the king. William Shakespeare, R. III.

    Such fruits as you appoint for long keeping, gather in a fair and dry day, and when the wind bloweth not south. Francis Bacon.

  3. SOUTHnoun

    Etymology: suð , Saxon; suyd, Dutch; sud, French.

    East and West have no certain points of heaven, but North and South are fixed; and seldom the far southern people have invaded the northern, but contrariwise. Francis Bacon.

    The queen of the South. Bible.

    From the North to call
    Decrepit Winter, from the South to bring
    Solstitial Summer’s heat. John Milton.

    All the contagion of the South light on you,
    You shames of Rome, you! William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    The North-east spends its rage, and now
    Th’ effusive South warms the wide air. James Thomson, Spring.

Wikipedia

  1. South

    South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.

ChatGPT

  1. south

    South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, which is directly opposite to the north and is typically associated with warmth, as it receives a significant amount of sun. On a map or compass, it is often depicted at the bottom and is at 180 degree on a compass card. South can refer to both a general direction or a specific geographic location.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Southnoun

    that one of the four cardinal points directly opposite to the north; the region or direction to the right or direction to the right of a person who faces the east

  2. Southnoun

    a country, region, or place situated farther to the south than another; the southern section of a country

  3. Southnoun

    specifically: That part of the United States which is south of Mason and Dixon's line. See under Line

  4. Southnoun

    the wind from the south

  5. Southadjective

    lying toward the south; situated at the south, or in a southern direction from the point of observation or reckoning; proceeding toward the south, or coming from the south; blowing from the south; southern; as, the south pole

  6. Southadverb

    toward the south; southward

  7. Southadverb

    from the south; as, the wind blows south

  8. Southverb

    to turn or move toward the south; to veer toward the south

  9. Southverb

    to come to the meridian; to cross the north and south line; -- said chiefly of the moon; as, the moon souths at nine

  10. Etymology: [OE. south, su, AS. s for sun; akin to D. zuid, OHG. sund, G. sd, sden, Icel. sur, sunnr, Dan. syd, snden, Sw. syd, sder, sunnan; all probably akin to E. sun, meaning, the side towards the sun. 297. See Sun.]

Wikidata

  1. South

    South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the polar opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west. By convention, the bottom side of a map is south. To go south using a compass for navigation, set a bearing or azimuth of 180°.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. South

    sowth, n. the direction in which the sun appears at noon to the people north of the Tropic of Cancer: any land opposite the north: the Southern States in U.S. history: the side of a church on the right hand of one facing the altar.—adj. lying towards the south.—adv. towards the south.—v.i. to veer towards the south: to cross the meridian of a place.—n. South′-east′, the direction equally distant from the south and east.—adjs. South′-east′, South′-east′erly, South′-east′ern, pertaining to, in the direction of, or coming from the south-east.—n. South′-east′er, a wind from the south-east.—advs. South′-east′ward, -ly, toward the south-east.—n. Souther (sowth′-), a wind from the south.—v.i. to veer toward the south.—adj. Southering (suth′-), turned toward the south, having a southern exposure.—n. Southerliness (suth′-), the condition of being southerly.—adjs. Southerly (suth′-), Southern (suth′-), pertaining to, situated in, or proceeding from or towards the south:—superls. Southermost (suth′-), Southernmost (suth′-), South′most, most southern, farthest towards the south.—n. Southerner (suth′-), an inhabitant of the south, esp. of the Southern States of America.—v.t. and v.i. Southernise (suth′-), to render southern in qualities or character, or to become such.—n. Southernism (suth′-), a form of expression peculiar to the south, esp. the Southern States of America.—adv. Southernly (suth′-), towards the south.—ns. Southernwood (suth′-), an aromatic plant of southern Europe, closely allied to wormwood; Southing (sowth′-), tendency or motion to the south: the time at which the moon passes the meridian; South′land, the south (also adj.).—adv. South′ly.—n. South′ness, tendency of a magnetic needle to point toward the south.—adj. Southron (suth′-), southern, esp. English.—n. a native or inhabitant of a southern country or district: an Englishman.—advs. South′ward (also suth′ard), toward the south (also n. and adj.); South′wardly (also adj.); South′wards.—n. South′-west′, the direction equally distant from the south and west—adjs. South′-west′, South′-west′erly, South′-west′ern, pertaining to, proceeding from, or lying in the direction of the south-west.—n. South′-west′er, a storm or gale from the south-west: a painted canvas hat with a broad flap behind for the neck (often Sou′west′er).—South Sea, the Pacific Ocean. [A.S. súth; Ger. süd, Ice. sudhr.]

Editors Contribution

  1. south

    Is an intuitively known direction or compass point on a navigational system on planet earth.

    True south is the direction towards the southern end of the axis about which the earth rotates.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 9, 2017  

Suggested Resources

  1. south

    The south symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the south symbol and its characteristic.

  2. south

    Quotes by south -- Explore a large variety of famous quotes made by south on the Quotes.net website.

  3. south

    Song lyrics by south -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by south on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SOUTH

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South is ranked #3231 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The South surname appeared 11,178 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 would have the surname South.

    88.1% or 9,853 total occurrences were White.
    6% or 674 total occurrences were Black.
    2.5% or 290 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.8% or 209 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.8% or 97 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.4% or 55 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'South' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #577

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'South' in Written Corpus Frequency: #798

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'South' in Nouns Frequency: #233

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for South »

  1. shout

  2. thous

How to pronounce South?

How to say South in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of South in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of South in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of South in a Sentence

  1. Curtis Wilkie:

    I can't remember it being any gloomier for Democrats in the South than it is today, the party has been demonized by Republicans. It's very bleak. I just don't see anything good for them on the horizon.

  2. John Kerry:

    What we are trying to do it break that cycle, regrettably there are missiles and fighter aircraft and guns and other things that have been placed into the South China Sea and this is of great concern to everyone who transits and relies on the South China Sea for peaceful trade.

  3. Confederate Heritage Month Haley:

    You know, for those groups that come in and say they have issues with the Confederate flag, I will work to talk to them about it, i will work and talk to them about the heritage and how this is not something that is racist. This is something that is a tradition that people feel proud of and let them know that we want their business in this state. And that the flag where it is, was a compromise of all people that everybody should accept as part of South Carolina.

  4. Ian Claxton:

    The need for bulk wheat, corn and rice will increase as local GDP and disposable income increases, again from Thailand, India, the U.S.A. - if all is forgiven - and South America plus the Black Sea.

  5. President Trump on Thursday:

    (South Korean President Moon Jae-in)wants a deal between the U.S. and North Korea because its good politically for him... its good for his country, in some ways... hes pushed us a little too far to make deals when we have to coordinate better.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

South#1#286#10000

References

Translations for South

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"South." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 14 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/South>.

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