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South America

South America

97 1.0
A continent in the southern part of the Americas south of North America
  • proper noun
  • /ˈsaʊθ əˈmɛrɪkə/
translation icon : Sudamérica
  • Many famous landmarks, such as Machu Picchu, are located in South America.
  • countries of South America
  • North and South America
  • Central and South America

The fact that we come from South America is not important.

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Examples

  • And it's about this new honey that comes from South America that people get really obsessed with.

  • Since 1976, she has given workshops and lectures in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The fact that we come from South America is not important.

  • You think a view of South America from space is going to change my life?

  • So I came from South America, I married my wife here in the United States.

  • Apparently, there have been no reported cases as yet in South America or in Africa.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Peace in South America was preserved at no cost to Britain.

  • For example, did you know that over 90 percent of South America is Catholic?

    Academic text (1991)
  • In July, my mother and stepfather went to South America and left Phil in charge.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • So lithium really comes from two places globally, South America, mainly Chile and Australia.

Surface Forms

Morphology

South + America

The meaning of 'South America' is directly compositional: 'South' (the southern part) combined with 'America' (the landmass/continent(s)) yields the continent in the southern part of the Americas. This straightforward geographic naming pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended place name.

Etymology

South America may come from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci: people used his name to call the land America. The word South was added because this is the 'southern part' of that land, so the name tells us it is the continent in the south.