English
southern
Southern comes from Old English sūþerne, from Proto-Germanic *sunþraz ‘south’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥‘sun’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂ún-terosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþraz‘south, southern’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþrōnijaz‘southern’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sūþerne‘southern’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500southerne
- Englishearliest quotation 1839southern
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥‘sun’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂ún-terosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþraz‘south, southern’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sunþrōnijaz‘southern’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sūþerne‘southern’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500southerne
- Englishearliest quotation 1839southern
Earliest quotation: 1839, Henry Hallam, Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth: “Force prevails most with the northerns, reason with the…”
Equivalent to south + -ern
Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ~ *sh₂wén-
…
Proto-Germanic *sunþrą
Proto-West Germanic *sunþr ‘southern’
Old English sūþ
Middle English south ‘south’
English south
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’
Today it means
adj Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ / southern