southern, a. and n.
(ˈsʌðən)
Forms: 1, 3 suðerne, 1 suþerne, 4 soþern, sotherin, 5 sothryn, -(e)ren, soþeren, -erne; 4 souþerne, -erin, -eren, 4–7 southerne (5 sow-), 5– southern; 5–6 southrene, 5–7 southren, 7 -rine.
[OE. s{uacu}ðerne (f. s{uacu}ð south adv. + -ern), = ON. suðrœ́nn, OHG. sundrôni. See also southron.]
A. adj.
1. a. Of persons: Living or originating in, coming from, the south, esp. of Great Britain (= English), of England, or of Europe.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Int. 19 Ðy cwoen suðerne ᵹemyndᵹade. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. Prol. 42 But trusteth wel, I am a southren man. 1610 [see northern a. 1]. 1646 J. Hall Poems i. 10 As feathers on a Southern-hacneys head. 1802 G. Ellis Let. in Lockhart Scott (1837) I. x. 346 In the only situation which can enable a Southern reader to estimate their merits. 1871 Skeat in Joseph of Arimathie p. xi, The southern forms in the poem being due to a southern scribe. |
b. U.S. Belonging to the Southern States.
Southern Baptist, a Baptist who is a member of a church belonging to the Southern Baptist Convention, first organized in 1845; also
attrib.| 1789 Deb. Congress U.S. 28 Apr. (1834) 215 Suppose a member from Massachusetts was to propose an impost on negroes, what would you hear from the Southern gentlemen, if fifty dollars was the sum to be laid? 1839 W. E. Channing Wks. (1884) 553/1 Congress must be an arena in which Northern and Southern parties will be arrayed against each other. 1846 J. Soule in Jrnls. Gen. Conf. Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1851) I. 105 Southern Methodists were able so far to conciliate public opinion, and quiet popular apprehension, as to carry on..the ordinary operations of church enterprise and discipline. 1849 [see northern a. 1 b]. 1866 in W. L. Flemming Documentary Hist. Reconstruction (1907) II. 247 In 1845, when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized,..in proportion to the population there were more negroes than white people who were members of our churches. 1888 Gunter Mr. Potter xii. 144 The most desperate charge ever made in the war by Southern troops. 1932 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. 19/3 The Southern Baptist handbook for 1932 declares Southern Baptists are ‘still wasting money in riotous living’. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind ix. 195 A delicately nurtured Southern belle with her Irish up. 1964 ‘E. McBain’ Ax ii. 32 A simpering smile on her lips, as though she were a Southern belle waiting to be asked for a dance. 1978 N. Longmate Hungry Mills i. 21 The ‘Southern gentlemen’, a breed already famous for their independence and arrogance, owned the large plantations. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. e7/4 Television station WFAA, which aired his program, said Robison's remarks crossed over from religious to political proselytizing and then canceled the half-hour program. The result has been a wave of support for the popular Southern Baptist evangelist. |
2. Of the wind: Blowing from the
south.| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. vi, Swa eac se suðerna wind hwilum mid miclum storme ᵹedrefeð þa sæ. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 276 Ealne ðone cwyld ðe se suðerna wind auster acænð. c 1205 Lay. 32038 Com þe wind suðerne, þa sæt an heore wille. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 232 Þo cam sone a souþerne wynd, þat northþe-ward drof heom faste. 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxvii. 26 He..broȝte in his vertue the southerne wynd. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1104 The southern wynd is best, as wist Is wel. 1548 Elyot, Notus, the southerne wynde. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Notus, The southerne windes puffe vp the sayles. 1626 Bacon Sylva §217 The Thinner or Drier Aire, carrieth not the Sound so well, as the more Dense: As appeareth..in moist Weather, and Southern Winds. 1697 Dryden æneid iii. 96 But southern gales invite us to the main. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. 116 The southern winds..blow off the land in violent gusts.., which seems to be owing to the obstruction of the southern gale, by the hills in the neighbourhood. 1835 Penny Cycl. III. 27/1 The southern trade-wind..always preserves its direction. |
3. a. Situated or lying to the southward or in the south; having a position relatively
south.| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 584 Heo..com fram ðam suðernum ᵹemærum to Salomone binnon Hierusalem. 1594 [see southernly adv. 1]. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies i. ii. 5 The other Antarticke or Southerne Pole. 1658 Dryden Stanzas O. Cromwell xxxi, We boldly cross'd the Line, And bravely fought where Southern Stars arise. 1713 Pope Windsor Forest 391 Under southern skies. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 49 The Agouti..is found in great abundance in the southern parts of America. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 475 The disappearance of the Greeks after the overthrow of their southern kingdom. 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 21 A large proportion of this advance was in the southern States. |
| Comb. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 193 The Current..did not so hurry me as the Southern Side Current had done. |
b. Astr. In the names of constellations, as
Southern Crown,
Southern Fish,
Southern Triangle.
Southern Cross: also
transf., the Australian national flag.
| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. iv. xix. (1597) 223 b, The Southerne Crowne, called Corona Australis. Ibid. 224 The hinder part of the Southerne fish hauing diuers starres without name. 1700– [see cross n. 12]. 1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 487 The ancient Constellations [include]..Corona Australis, The Southern Crown,..[and] Piscis Australis, The Southern Fish. 1845 Gosse Ocean iv. (1849) 178 Of all the constellations that stud the sky of the southern hemisphere, there is none that more strikes a stranger than the Southern Cross. 1855 R. Carboni Eureka Stockade xxxvii. 50 There is no flag in old Europe half so beautiful as the ‘Southern Cross’ of the Ballaarat miners. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 817/1 The constellations added by Hevelius [include]..Sextans, The Sextant;..Triangulum Australe, The Southern Triangle. 1917 ‘H. H. Richardson’ Richard Mahoney ii. i. 96 The ‘Southern Cross’ hoisted—a blue bunting that bore the silver stars of the constellation after which it was named. |
4. a. Of things: Pertaining or belonging to, produced by, found in, characteristic of, the
south.| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 224 Þæt is suþerne læcedom. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 584 And hire olfendas bæron suðerne wyrta, and deorwurðe gymstanas. a 1300 Cursor M. 20061 In a writt þis ilk i fand... In sotherin englis was it draun. 1387 [see B. 1]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 467/1 Sowtherne, idem quod sowthely. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 101 Meanynge to haue..a southerne byl, to conteruayle a Northren bastard. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 877 To seek adventure In Southren Climates for a milder Winter. 1622 in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1908) II. 43 Which..brings them quantetyes of southrine commodities. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 400 That sun..not alone the southern wit sublimes, But ripens spirits in cold northern climes. 1748 [see northern a. 3]. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 108 The great demand for the southern markets in the Autumn. 1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New English I. 68 A curious medley of Northern and Southern pronouns. |
b. southern lights, the Aurora Australis.
| 1775 Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 409 Some Southern lights, very rare and motionless. 1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 116 The stars were sometimes hid by..these southern lights (aurora australis). 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 62 Cook was the first navigator who recorded the southern lights. |
c. U.S. spec. Pertaining to or belonging to the southern States of America (
cf. south n. 2 c).
Southern Comfort, the proprietary name of a brand of alcoholic drink, based on whisky and
orig. manufactured in the
U.S.| 1819 D. Thomas Trav. through Western Country 100 The mistress..treated us to milk, in the true spirit of southern hospitality. 1836 Southern Lit. Messenger II. 111/2 We have known a New Englander laugh at the Southern use of the word clever. 1860 Charleston (S. Carolina) Mercury 15 Nov. 2/5 The ‘Lone Star’ was very suggestive of the additions which may hereafter be made to the Independent Southern Confederacy. 1877 C. Hallock Sportsman's Gazetteer 96 The Southern Fox Squirrel inhabits the Southern States from North Carolina to Texas. 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xlix. 574 Hot wheat-bread, Southern style. 1925 G. P. Krapp Eng. Lang. in Amer. I. 40 It is..much easier for an American to call up in his mind a kind of image of the Eastern and Southern types of American speech than of the Western or General type. 1934 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 24 July 786/2 Midland Distilleries, Incorporated, St. Louis, Mo...Southern Comfort. For Cordial. 1947 Trade Marks Jrnl. 12 Nov. 707/1 Southern Comfort B647,105. Wines, spirits (beverages) and liqueurs. Southern Comfort Corporation.., 2121, Olive Street, St. Louis,..Missouri, United States of America; Manufacturers. 1962 A. Lurie Love & Friendship iv. 60 He had a slight Southern accent. 1978 M. G. Eberhart Nine O'Clock Tide i. 21 I'll take a little drink..Southern Comfort. 1979 United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 280 The corn bread, fried chicken..and the like are served buffet-style in a big Southern-style mansion. 1980 Blair & Ketchum's Country Jrnl. Oct. 142 (Advt.), Grandma Johnston's southern fruit cake. |
5. a. In the specific names of animals, birds, or fishes: (see
quots. and the
ns.).
Other examples occur in
Shaw's Gen. Zool. (1800–24) and in Lydekker's
Roy. Nat. Hist. (1894–96).
| 1813 Shaw Nat. Misc. XXIV. 1058 The *Southern Apteryx. |
| 1690 Lond. Gaz. No. 2614/4 A Pack of *Southern Beagles to be sold. |
| 1781 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 264 *Southern Brown Parrot... Inhabits New Zealand. |
| c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 264 The *Southern Caracaras (Ibycter australis) are said to run with extreme quickness. |
| Ibid. 144 The *Southern Cavy (Cavia australis)..inhabits Patagonia. |
| 1890 Cent. Dict., Micropterus... Bass of this genus are variously known as..white-trout, *southern or Roanoke chub [etc.]. |
| 1790 J. White Jrnl. Voy. N.S. Wales 266 *Southern Cottus, Cottus Australis... This fish did not exceed four inches in length. |
| c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 116 The little *Southern Field Vole (Arvicola arvalis). |
| 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 283/1 The bifid cæcum in the *Southern Manatee. |
| 1882 Jordan & Gilbert Syn. Fishes N. Amer. 929 Argyrops chrysops, *Southern Porgee. |
| 1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. i. 187 *Southern Sandpiper..inhabits Cayenne. |
| Ibid. ii. 365 *Southern Tern..inhabits Christmas Island. |
| 1823 ― Gen. Hist. Birds VI. 322 *Southern Wagtail... Inhabits New-Holland, and has the air and manners of our Common Wagtail. |
| 1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 151/2 The *Southern or Cape Whale (Balæna australis) is now regarded as a distinct species. |
b. In the specific names of plants.
southern beech = nothofagus.
Cf. OE. s{uacu}ðerne popiᵹ,
rædic,
wermód.
| 1914 W. J. Bean Trees & Shrubs Hardy in Brit. Isles II. 97 The *southern beeches are only adapted for the milder parts of the country. 1957 M. Hadfield Brit. Trees 189 The so-called ‘southern beeches’..represent the beech family in South America, south-east Australia, and New Zealand. 1974 [see nothofagus]. |
| 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. (1860) 267 Bumelia lycioides... *Southern Buckthorn... Moist ground, S[outh] Kentucky and southward. |
| Ibid. 78 Vitis vulpina. Muscadine or *Southern Fox-Grape. |
| 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. App. 121/1 Lilium catesbæi, *Southern lily. |
| 1607 Markham Cavelarie iii. 17 Not like your *southerne Oates light and emptie, which in the north wee call skeggs. |
| 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 171/2 The *southern Pine (Pinus australis or P. palustris)... A native of Virginia and the neighbouring states of America. |
| 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. (1860) 470 Lilium Catesbæi, *Southern Red Lily. |
6. Facing or directed towards the
south.| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard'ner 19 What fruit best agrees with a Southern Wall. Ibid. 20 The Southern Exposition. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 494 There, prison'd in a parlour snug and small, Like bottled wasps upon a southern wall. 1900 Bp. W. How Lighter Moments 37 A very good garden with a southern slope. |
7. Performed or done in the
south.| 1748 Anson's Voy. i. ix. 92 This..would render all that southern navigation infinitely securer than at present. |
8. As
adv. Towards the
south.| 1678 Dryden All for Love i. i, All Southern, from yon Hills, the Roman Camp Hangs o'er us black and threatning. |
9. Comb., as
southern-headed,
southern-shaped,
southern-tinted;
southern-fried U.S., cooked in a manner characteristic of the southern states; also
fig.| 1972 St. Louis Post-Dispatch 5 Nov. c1/4 ‘Ah sure thought we were gonna win,’ he said in his Southern-fried drawl. ‘Ah really did.’ 1973 Sat. Rev. World (U.S.) 6 Nov. 43/1 Southern-fried chicken..with bananas, sweet corn, and tomatoes. 1976 N. Thornburg Cutter & Bone vi. 142 Not hillbilly really. Just a good ole boy, southern fried. 1982 Times 19 June 7/5 Southern fried chicken really is a speciality. |
| 1678 Lond. Gaz. No. 1308/4 A broad squot white beagle Bitch,..southern-headed. |
| 1922 D. H. Lawrence Aaron's Rod xiv. 195 There was..something inhuman and possessed-looking in their foreign, southern-shaped faces, so much more formed and demon-looking than northern faces. |
| 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 341 The nut-brown maid, blushing through her southern-tinted skin in a very visible manner. |
B. n. 1. Southern men.
rare.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 163 Men of myddel Engelond..vnderstondeþ bettre þe side langages, norþerne and souþerne, þan norþerne and souþerne vnderstondeþ eiþer oþer. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 609 Ane awfull salt the Sothren son began. Ibid. 665 Thocht Sotheren had it suorn. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxii. 903 The Southern on this side, for Yorke ‘a Warwicke’ cry. Ibid. 1127 The Southern expert were, in all to war belong. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. viii, A sturdy Scotsman, with all sort of prejudices against the southern, and the spawn of the southern. |
2. A native of the south:
a. Of Great Britain, or of parts of the United Kingdom.
| 1721 Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 82 The Southerns will with pith your project bauk. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xxvi, Both Southern fierce and hardy Scot. a 1849 H. Coleridge Ess. (1851) I. 190 The Southerns, and some of you Northerns too, have a strange idea of the lakes. 1874 S. Wilberforce Ess. I. 26 Poor stay-at-home Southerns whose nerves were not being braced by the invigorating air of the eastern Highlands. |
b. Of Europe.
| 1830 H. N. Coleridge Greek Poets 18 That the old Greek and Roman poets were..Southerns, or Inhabitants of the South of Europe. 1856 N. Brit. Rev. XXVI. 127 Vegetable oil in lamps lights the Southerns now as in old classical days. 1870 Miss L. Toulmin Smith Eng. Gilds Introd. p. lxxiii, When..these Southerns brought Christianity into the North. |
c. In general use.
| 1846 G. Warburton Hochelaga II. 314 There were Hamburg Jews, Spaniards from the Havannah, Northerns and Southerns, Westerns, English, Canadians, and a few who had no country in particular. 1885 Sir H. Taylor Autobiog. I. 353 The trading interests of the Southerns [of China] were identical with our own. |
3. U.S. The dialect of English spoken in the southern states.
| 1935, 1951 [see New England a]. 1975 New Yorker 21 Apr. 33/3, I listened to the Governor's lady talking for some minutes to some of her South Delaware friends, and they were talking Southern. 1981 J. Scott Distant View of Death x. 147 Saying in her comedy Southern: ‘Why, Colonel..you jest spoil lil' ol' me.’ |
Hence
ˈsouthern v., to become more southerly.
| 1870 Daily News 12 May, At 7.30 a.m. the wind was S.E., but southerning fast. 1894 Times 6 Aug. 5/2 The breeze southerned and came fresher. |
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Add:
[4.] d. Southern Oscillation Meteorol., an approximately cyclic variation in the position and intensity of the principal anticyclones and depressions of the southern hemisphere.
| 1923 G. T. Walker in Mem. Indian Meteorol. Dept. XXIV. 285 In summer it [sc. Vienna] is a weak adherent of the second group in the ‘southern’ oscillation, having negative associations with Samoa and Peninsula rain. Ibid. 323 By the southern oscillation is implied the tendency of pressure at stations in the Pacific..and of rainfall in India and Java..to increase, while pressure in the region of the Indian Ocean..decreases. 1976 Nature 13 May 94/1 The Southern Oscillation is not..some local or even hemispheric phenomenon, but rather a..manifestation of the general tendency of the atmosphere/ocean system to vary on this kind of timescale. 1990 J. Gribbin Hothouse Earth vii. 162 When the temperature pattern over the oceans reverses, the winds also reverse, a phenomenon known to meteorologists as the Southern Oscillation. |
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Southern Gothic adj. and
n. (also with lower-case initial in the second element)
(a) adj. of, designating, or reminiscent of a genre of fiction set in the southern United States, characterized by plots involving violence or hidden trauma, eccentric and often psychologically troubled characters, and a general atmosphere of repression and decay;
cf. Gothic adj. and
n. Additions;
(b) n. this genre, or a work in this genre.
| 1935E. Glasgow in Sat. Rev. 4 May 4/2, I am not asking the novelist of the *Southern Gothic school to change his material. 1958 F. O'Connor Let. 26 Oct. (1979) 301, I suppose my novel too will be called another Southern Gothic. 1991 Time 25 Nov. 82/2 He spins out his story..recounting Southern-gothic tales of abuse, alcoholism and incest as examples of dysfunctional family behavior. 1997 Vanity Fair Dec. 128/2 Other Voices, Other Rooms has been severely marked down in recent decades..part of a general devaluation of the whole school of Southern Gothic. |