# southern

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈsʌðən/ · frequency rank #1,540

## Definitions
1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
2. Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe or the southern United States.
3. Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly.

## Etymology
From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”).
By surface analysis, south + -ern.

## Easily confused with
- **Southerner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/southern-vs-southerner)
- **Southend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/southend-vs-southern)
- **southerly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/southerly-vs-southern)

## Common misspellings (12)
`osuthern`, `sotuhern`, `souhtern`, `soutehrn`, `southenr`, `southernn`, `southerrn`, `southhern`, `southren`, `soutthern`, `ssouthern`, `suothern`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/southern