South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. South the polar opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.
Etymology
The word
south is derived from the name of one of the four dwarves in
Norse mythology,
Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri, who each represented one of the directions of the world.
Navigation
By
convention, the bottom side of a
map is south, although
exist that defy this convention.
To go south using a compass for
navigation, set a
bearing or
azimuth of 180°. Alternatively, in the
Northern Hemisphere the
Sun will be roughly in the south at
midday.
South Pole
True south is the direction towards the southern end of the axis about which the
earth rotates, called the
South Pole. The South Pole is located in
Antarctica.
Magnetic south is the direction towards the south
magnetic pole, some distance away from the south geographic pole.
Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the south pole, on 14 December 1911, after Ernest Shackleton was forced to turn back some distance short.
Geography
The
Global South refers to the less socially and economically developed southern half of the globe. 95% of the Global North has enough food and shelter, and a functioning education system.
[ In the South, on the other hand, only 5% of the population has enough food and shelter. It "lacks appropriate technology, it has no political stability, the economies are disarticulated, and their foreign exchange earnings depend on primary product exports."]
The South may also refer to the Southern United States, separated from the Northeastern United States by the Mason–Dixon line. Alternatively, it may refer to the South of England, which is politically and economically unmatched with the North of England.
Other uses
In the card game bridge, one of the players is known for scoring purposes as South. South partners with North and plays against East and West.
