southern

southern · adjective, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sh₂un-
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*sunþrōnijaz“southern”
3. Old English · derived fromsūþerne“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”
4. Middle English · derived fromsoutherne
5. English todaysouthern

From Middle English southerne, sothern, sutherne, from Old English sūþerne (“southern, southerly, coming from the south; of southern make”), from Proto-Germanic *sunþrōnijaz (“southern”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sh₂wen-, r/n-stem alternation of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognate with Scots southron, sudron (“southern”), Old Frisian sūthern, sūdern (“southern”), Middle Low German sūdern (“southern”), Middle High German sundern (“southern”), Icelandic suðrænn (“southern, tropical”). By surface analysis, south + -ern.

Southern · adjective, proper noun²

English surname, from the adjective southern. Often used as a northern English nickname for someone from the south of the country, or as a Scottish nickname for an Englishman.