south English · revision 2318

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf (Old English sūþ)|origins=gem-pro *sunþaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /saʊθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|south]] (also [[m|enm|suth]]),^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) [[inh|ang|sūþ|t=southward, in the south]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*sunþaz]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) This is perhaps literally “sun-side”, from the base of [[m|gem-pro|*sunnōn|t=sun]], from [[ine-pro|*sawel-|t=the sun]];^(Etymonline) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster also see a probable link with [[sun]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) Its relatives include [[nl|zuid]], [[de|Süden]] and [[non|suðr]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) French [[m|fr|sud]] and Spanish [[m|es|sur]] were borrowed from Germanic, perhaps from Old Norse.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Southward, in the south, as an adverb: Old English ''sūþ'', about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988) Old English also used it as the first part of compounds such as ''sūþdǣl'', “the southern region”, before 800.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As the first part of a compound, Old English ''sūþ'' was often shortened, which is why place names such as ''Suffolk'' (the “south folk”), ''Sutton'' (“south town”) and ''Sussex'' (the “South Saxons”) are pronounced with a short vowel.^(AHD 2000) The noun, the cardinal point and the southern part of a country, dates from the late 13th century,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the adjective from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Southward'' is from about 1290, ''southern'' from about 1300 (from Old English ''sūþerne''), and ''southerly'' from 1551.^(Barnhart 1988) The southern states of the US have been called ''the South'' since 1779.^(Etymonline) In Middle English the ''South Sea'' was the Mediterranean, and later the English Channel; from the 1520s the ''South Seas'' were the South Pacific.^(Etymonline) A ''southwester'' was a wind from 1833 and a waterproof hat from 1836.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb “to turn or move south” is recorded from 1725.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''sūþ'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 800 – ''sūþdǣl'', the south.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 13th century – noun, the south.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1290 – ''southward''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – adjective, and ''southern''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – ''South Seas'', the South Pacific.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1551 – ''southerly''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1725 – verb, to move south.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1779 – ''the South'' (US).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The direction to the right of someone facing the [[sunrise]]; the [[cardinal point]] opposite north.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A region lying in the south.^(AHD)

+ # ''(usually capitalized)'' The southern part of a country, especially the southern states of the US.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # In, toward, facing or coming from the south.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In, from or toward the south.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To turn or move toward the south.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[southeasterly]]

+ * [[southeastern]]

+ * [[souther]]

+ * [[southmost]]

+ * [[southpaw]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sun]]

+ * [[Sussex]]

+ * [[Suffolk]]

+ * [[southern]]

+ * [[north]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}