Where does “southwest” come from?
Southwest derives from Old English sūþwest, a compound of sūþ (south) and west (west).
southwest (English): The compass point halfway between south and west,...
Definitions
- The compass point halfway between south and west,...
Ancestry of “southwest”, step by step
southwest traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English West
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | West | Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie |
| 2 | Middle English | west | west; A location to the south; the south; The... |
| 3 | Old English | west | west |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *westr | western, westernly |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | westrą | west; west, westward |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | westraz | west, western |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wek(ʷ)speros | evening |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | we- | — |