South

South

South is one of cardinal directions and is opposite to the north.

By Western convention, the bottom side of a map is south; the southern direction has azimuth or bearing of 180°.

True south is the direction towards the southern end of the axis about which the earth rotates, called the South Pole and located in Antarctica. Magnetic south is the direction towards the south magnetic pole, some distance away from the south geographic pole.

Etymology

The etymology of "south" comes the Old English word "suth", related to the Old High German word "sund", and perhaps "sunne" in Old English, with the sense of "the region of the sun" (sun culminates in the south in the northern hemisphere).

"The South" usually refers to "regions or countries lying to the south of a specified or implied point of orientation, especially the southeastern part of the United States""Merriam-Webster Dictionary": http://www.m-w.com] , i. e. the Southern United States and mainly the Deep South, in a general historical context. "The South" is also used for "the developing nations of the world", i. e. the third world: see North-South divide.

Other languages have sometimes more interesting derivations. For example, in Rutul "jennet" can mean both 'paradise' and 'south', because of the tribe's belief that paradise is located in the south of the Rutuls' lands. In many languages of Mesoamerica, 'south' means also 'down'.

References


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  • south — south; south·amp·ton; south·cot·ti·an; south·east·er; south·east·ern; south·east·ern·er; south·east·ern·most; south·east·ward·ly; south·east·wards; south·end; south·er·li·ness; south·er·most; south·ern·er; south·ern·ism; south·ern·ize;… …   English syllables

  • south — (south) n. 1. Abbr. S a) The direction along a meridian 90° clockwise from east; the direction to the right of sunrise. b) The cardinal point on the mariner s compass 180° clockwise from due north and directly opposite north. 2. An area or region …   Word Histories

  • south — [south] n. [ME < OE suth, akin to OHG sund , ON suthr < Gmc * suntha (understood as sun side < IE * sun ,SUN1), prob. < * swintha , strong, SOUND2, to the right side, in reference to the east facing position during prayer] 1. the… …   English World dictionary

  • South — South, a. 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. At the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • South C — is a middle class residential estate located in the southland area of Nairobi.It lies next to Wilson Airport and is also bordered with South B Langata estate. Close to its outskirt surrounding near langata estate, lies the famous kibera slums.… …   Wikipedia

  • South — ist der Name einer Rock Band, siehe South (Band) der Titel mehrerer Filme, unter anderem South (2009), ein österreichischer Spielfilm der Regisseure Gerhard Fillei und Joachim Krenn aus dem Jahr 2009 eine Region in Kamerun (englische Bezeichnung) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • south — O.E. suð southward, in the south, from P.Gmc. *sunthaz (Cf. O.S., O.Fris. suth southward, in the south, M.Du. suut), perhaps related to base of *sunnon sun, with sense of the region of the sun. Ger. Süd, Süden are from a Dutch pronunciation. O.Fr …   Etymology dictionary

  • south|er|ly — «SUHTH uhr lee», adjective, adverb, noun, plural lies. –adj. 1. toward the south: »a southerly exposure. 2. coming from the south: »a southerly wind. 3. of the south. –adv. 1. toward the south; southward: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • South — (?; by sailors sou), n. [OE. south, su[thorn], AS. s[=u][eth] for sun[eth]; akin to D. zuid, OHG. sund, G. s[ u]d, s[ u]den, Icel. su[eth]r, sunnr, Dan. syd, s[ o]nden, Sw. syd, s[ o]der, sunnan; all probably akin to E. sun, meaning, the side… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • South — the South a) the southeastern states of the US, used especially when talking about politics or history. When people in the US talk about the South, they mean the states that were originally part of the ↑Confederacy during the Civil War. The… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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