1
Southern : 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 Southernness

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
Lake Powell is located primarily in southern Utah, with a small portion in northern Arizona. Jon Haworth, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026 Toward the southern end of the park, the LeFrak Center offers ice skating in winter and roller skating in summer, and Smorgasburg, a Sunday local food fair, pops up from April to October. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026 By comparison, according to the study, the burial robes of King Sigismund III Vasa and Queen Constance of Habsburg, interred around the same time in Kraków in southern Poland, contain not a single pure gold thread. Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 Waffle House, the iconic, 24-hour Southern diner, is dabbling in another comfort food — the beloved taco. Amy Wenk, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026 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 24 Aug. 2026.

Kids Definition

southern

adjective
1
capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of the South
2
: lying toward or coming from the south

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