Where does “midsouth” come from?

midsouth (English) comes from English MID, from English mid-range, from English range, from Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier, from Old French reng, from Latin rencus, from Gaulish rekos — to set in order.

midsouth (English): In the middle of the southern part

Definitions

  1. In the middle of the southern part

Ancestry of “midsouth”, step by step

midsouth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English MID

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMIDInitialism of mobile information device
2Englishmid-rangeOf a central or halfway point
3EnglishrangeA line or series of mountains, buildings, etc; A...
4Middle Englishrengen
5Old Frenchrengierto line up; to form ranks
6Old Frenchrengplace; position
7Latinrencusrow; order, rank
8Gaulishrekos
9Proto-Celticreketito arrange
10Proto-Indo-European(H)rek-to set in order

via English South

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSouthAny of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie
2Frenchsudsouth
3Middle Frenchsudsouth
4Old Frenchsudsouth
5Old Englishsūþsouth
6Proto-Germanicsunþrąsouth; south, southward
7Proto-Indo-Europeansóh₂wl̥sun
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (H)rek-Every word from Proto-Celtic reketiEvery word from Gaulish rekos