south

The word “south” means the compass direction opposite north. In plain terms, the direction opposite north, or a southern region/culture.

“South” is pronounced SOWTH (/ˈsaʊ̯θ/ in IPA).

Here is “south” used in a sentence: “The birds migrate south for the winter.”

Depending on how it is used, “south” can be a noun, an adjective and an adverb.

The word “south” comes from Old English. From Old English suth, from Proto-Germanic *sunthraz, ultimately related to the Proto-Indo-European root for "sun.".

“South” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“South” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the compass direction opposite north.

They are opposite compass directions. If you face the rising sun in the east, north is on your left and south is on your right. On most maps south sits at the bottom and north at the top. South points toward the South Pole, the exact reverse of north's heading.

By modern convention, mapmakers place north at the top, which puts south at the bottom. This is a custom rather than a law of nature — early maps were oriented in many directions. Because most maps now follow it, "south" has become loosely associated with downward and "north" with upward.

Lowercase "south" is a direction. Capitalised, "the South" names a specific region — for example the southern United States or the south of England — treated as a place with its own identity. So "drive south" gives a direction, while "the South" names a region people live in or come from.

The phrase "go south" means to deteriorate or fail, as in "the deal went south." It likely comes from south's position at the bottom of a map, suggesting a downward turn. Used this way, the direction becomes a figure of speech for decline rather than an actual compass heading.