Etymograph

English

south

South comes from Middle English south ‘south, southernness’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂ún-teros1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþraz1‘south’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþrą1reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sunþr1‘southern’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sūþ1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500south1‘south’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1987south1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English south
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1987, Charles E. Cobb, North Carolina's Outer Banks: “When folks from Nags Head want to get away…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-Wiktionary, English southreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂ún-terosWiktionary, English southreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþrazWiktionary, English south‘south’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþrąWiktionary, English southreconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sunþrWiktionary, English south‘southern’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sūþWiktionary, English south
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500southWiktionary, English south‘south’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1987southWiktionary, English south. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1987, Charles E. Cobb, North Carolina's Outer Banks: “When folks from Nags Head want to get away…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-

Today it means

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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “south”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén- / south

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