*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of south

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *sunþ Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ún-teros Proto-Germanic *sunþraz ▲ Proto-Germanic *sunþraz Proto-Germanic *sunþrą Proto

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The direction towards the pole to the right-hand side of someone facing east, specifically 180°, or (on another celestial object) the direction towards the pole lying on the southern side of the invariable plane. · The southern region or area; the inhabitants thereof. · In a church: the direction to the right-hand side of a person facing the altar. · The negative or south pole of a magnet.

adj

Toward the south; southward. · from the south. · Of or pertaining to the south; southern. · Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by southbound traffic.

adv

Toward the south; southward. · Downward. · In an adverse direction or trend. · Of wind, from the south.

verb

To turn or move toward the south; to veer toward the south. · To come to the meridian; to cross the north and south line.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *sunþ Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ún-teros Proto-Germanic *sunþraz ▲ Proto-Germanic *sunþraz Proto-Germanic *sunþrą Proto-West Germanic *sunþr Old English sūþ Middle English south English south From Middle English south, from Old English sūþ, from Proto-West Germanic *sunþr (“southern”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrą (“south”), from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognates Cognate with Scots sooth (“south”), Yola zouth (“south”), North Frisian sööd, Süđ, süüd (“south”), Saterland Frisian Sude, Suud (“south”), West Frisian súd (“south”), Dutch zuid (“south”), German Süd (“south”), Danish syd (“south”), Faroese and Icelandic suður (“south”), Norwegian Bokmål syd, sør (“south”), Norwegian Nynorsk sør (“south”), Swedish syd, söder (“south”); also with Irish súil (“eye”), Cornish howl (“sun”), Manx sooill (“eye”), Scottish Gaelic sùil (“eye”), Welsh haul (“sun”), Latin sōl (“sun”), Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun; east; day”), Czech slunce (“sun”), Polish słońce (“sun”), Russian солнце (solnce, “sun”), Serbo-Croatian сунце, sunce (“sun”), Slovene sonce (“sun”), Latgalian saule (“sun”), Latvian saũle (“sun”), Lithuanian sáulė (“sun”), Albanian diell (“sun”), Avestan 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (huuar^ə, “sun”), Persian خور (xwar, “sun”), Ossetian хор (xor), хур (xur, “sun”), Sanskrit सूर्य (sūrya, “sun”), Tocharian A swāñce (“beam, ray”), Tocharian B swāñco (“beam, ray”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:south<id:_south>",
        "tree": "+",
        "id": "_south"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-West Germanic *sunþ\nProto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-\nProto-Indo-European *-teros\nProto-Indo-European *sh₂ún-teros\nProto-Germanic *sunþraz\n▲\nProto-Germanic *sunþraz\nProto-Germanic *sunþrą\nProto-West Germanic *sunþr\nOld English sūþ\nMiddle English south\nEnglish south\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*sunþraz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"south\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"south\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"gem-pro\", \"2\" : \":inh\", \"3\" : \"ine-pro:<alt:*sh₂ún-teros><ety:af<ine-pro:*sóh₂wl̥<id:Sun><alt:*sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén->><ine-pro:*-teros<id:adjectival>>>\", \"id\" : \"south\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*sunþraz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*sunþrą\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*sunþr\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"sūþ\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"south\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"south\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"_south\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"south\" id=\"English:__south\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English south"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sūþ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sūþ"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*sunþr",
        "t": "southern"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *sunþr (“southern”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*sunþrą",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *sunþrą (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sóh₂wl̥",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "sooth",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots sooth (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "zouth",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola zouth (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "sööd"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian sööd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sude"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sude"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "súd",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian súd (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "zuid",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch zuid (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Süd",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "German Süd (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "syd",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish syd (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "suður",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic suður (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "syd"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål syd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "sør",
        "t": "south"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk sør (“south”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "syd"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish syd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "súil",
        "t": "eye"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish súil (“eye”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kw",
        "2": "howl",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Cornish howl (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gv",
        "2": "sooill",
        "t": "eye"
      },
      "expansion": "Manx sooill (“eye”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "sùil",
        "t": "eye"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic sùil (“eye”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "haul",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh haul (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "sōl",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin sōl (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἥλιος",
        "t": "sun; east; day"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun; east; day”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs",
        "2": "slunce",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech slunce (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "słońce",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish słońce (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "солнце",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian солнце (solnce, “sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "сунце"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian сунце"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sl",
        "2": "sonce",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovene sonce (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ltg",
        "2": "saule",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Latgalian saule (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "saũle",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian saũle (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "sáulė",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian sáulė (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "diell",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian diell (“sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ae",
        "2": "𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Avestan 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (huuar^ə, “sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "خور",
        "tr": "xwar",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian خور (xwar, “sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "os",
        "2": "хор"
      },
      "expansion": "Ossetian хор (xor)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "सूर्य",
        "t": "sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit सूर्य (sūrya, “sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xto",
        "2": "swāñce",
        "t": "beam, ray"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian A swāñce (“beam, ray”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "txb",
        "2": "swāñco",
        "t": "beam, ray"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian B swāñco (“beam, ray”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:south<id:_south>",
        "tree": "+",
        "id": "_south"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-West Germanic *sunþ\nProto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-\nProto-Indo-European *-teros\nProto-Indo-European *sh₂ún-teros\nProto-Germanic *sunþraz\n▲\nProto-Germanic *sunþraz\nProto-Germanic *sunþrą\nProto-West Germanic *sunþr\nOld English sūþ\nMiddle English south\nEnglish south"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*sunþ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sunþ"
    ],
    [
      "*sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sóh₂wl̥#Proto-Indo-European:_Sun"
    ],
    [
      "*-teros",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-teros#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sunþraz#Proto-Germanic:_south"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sunþraz#Proto-Germanic:_south"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþrą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sunþrą#Proto-Germanic:_south"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþr",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sunþr#Proto-West_Germanic:_southern"
    ],
    [
      "sūþ",
      "suþ#Old_English:_south"
    ],
    [
      "south",
      "south#Middle_English:__south"
    ],
    [
      "south",
      "south#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sūþ",
      "suþ#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþr",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sunþr"
    ],
    [
      "*sunþrą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sunþrą"
    ],
    [
      "*sóh₂wl̥",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sóh₂wl̥"
    ],
    [
      "sooth",
      "sooth#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "zouth",
      "zouth#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "sööd",
      "sööd#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Süđ",
      "Süđ#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "süüd",
      "süüd#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Sude",
      "Sude#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Suud",
      "Suud#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "súd",
      "súd#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "zuid",
      "zuid#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Süd",
      "Süd#German"
    ],
    [
      "syd",
      "syd#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "suður#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "suður",
      "suður#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "syd",
      "syd#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "sør",
      "sør#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "sør",
      "sør#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "syd",
      "syd#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "söder",
      "söder#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "súil",
      "súil#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "howl",
      "howl#Cornish"
    ],
    [
      "sooill",
      "sooill#Manx"
    ],
    [
      "sùil",
      "sùil#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "haul",
      "haul#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "sōl",
      "sol#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ἥλιος",
      "ἥλιος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "slunce",
      "slunce#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "słońce",
      "słońce#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "солнце",
      "солнце#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "сунце",
      "сунце#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "sunce",
      "sunce#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "sonce",
      "sonce#Slovene"
    ],
    [
      "saule",
      "saule#Latgalian"
    ],
    [
      "saũle",
      "saule#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "sáulė",
      "saulė#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "diell",
      "diell#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆",
      "𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆#Avestan"
    ],
    [
      "خور",
      "خور#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "хор",
      "хор#Ossetian"
    ],
    [
      "хур",
      "хур#Ossetian"
    ],
    [
      "सूर्य",
      "सूर्य#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "swāñce",
      "swāñce#Tocharian_A"
    ],
    [
      "swāñco",
      "swāñco#Tocharian_B"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The direction towards the pole to the right-hand side of someone facing east, specifically 180°, or (on another celestial object) the direction towards the pole lying on the southern side of the invariable plane.",
        "The southern region or area; the inhabitants thereof.",
        "In a church: the direction to the right-hand side of a person facing the altar.",
        "The negative or south pole of a magnet."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "22cb3605a64ec80acc6d30991f4a83e79b3b4ca887a7c0a62dd97ba49c938558",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d01c53a04ae9eebcd0c235c9eadd2e3adfb63267893c9eb25100efb42ed3ca0d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17620
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Toward the south; southward.",
        "from the south.",
        "Of or pertaining to the south; southern.",
        "Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by southbound traffic."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "5bb4a4a8245595518332850c591bef2362638e780db0306a36a2dc8942e5579e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "be22ba119d26010df76015859d6cd64618242a5a6cb134273f9fd4d9d0e35eab",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17621
    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Toward the south; southward.",
        "Downward.",
        "In an adverse direction or trend.",
        "Of wind, from the south."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "recordId": "695544437b133876d1fab783d1a7f488a6c4bc20fb7251564c96487af36f54e8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7c95e7de79aaa705407b9090714b7d4de3e86d060da497d3942122444698b941",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17622
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To turn or move toward the south; to veer toward the south.",
        "To come to the meridian; to cross the north and south line."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "9ff235b24d16c804fa9fd6d0a675e3d8600ac34e2a84025c9f0eedb79ab1844b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e3a9209b54182ea5cd612c649297654c5783e16ff446a4c13a9c8af6fc4d9434",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17623
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for south →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c291dGg