southerly
Meaning
situated in or facing the south
(of a wind) blowing from the south
toward the south
from the south
Structure
Usage
a southerly breeze brought warmer air to the coast.
they continued in a southerly direction along the trail.
the weather front is moving southerly at about fifteen miles per hour.
Etymology
the word 'southerly' is built upon the old english root 'sūþ', which denotes the cardinal direction. the addition of the '-er' suffix creates the comparative form 'souther', historically used to mean "more southern" or "from the south." finally, the adverbial '-ly' suffix is appended, a productive suffix from old english '-lice', which converts adjectives into adverbs. thus, the literal construction "in a southern manner" evolved to specifically describe both direction toward the south and, importantly for meteorology, winds originating from the south. this layered morphology illustrates how english combines native elements to create precise descriptive terms for direction and wind.
Analysis
- south: from old english 'sūþ', meaning "south, southern region" - er: a suffix forming comparative adjectives or agent nouns; here, it forms the adjective 'souther' (more southern) - ly: an adverbial suffix meaning "in a manner or direction of"