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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ A southern word 🤝 A southern custom
southernism

southernism

9.9
A word or way of speaking from the southern United States
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌðərnˌɪzəm/
  • US
translation icon : southernismo
  • Many people recognize the phrase 'Y'all' as a common Southernism used in everyday conversation.

Examples

  • These are such sort of cliched Southernisms that you start to see this character as a caricature.

  • During our trip to Tennessee, I learned several amusing Southernisms that locals often use.

  • His use of the word 'buggy' instead of 'cart' was a classic Southernism that surprised the tourists.

Synonyms

regionalism
vssouthernism
1 8.0

A word, a way of speaking or a custom used in one local area

is narrower, naming words from one region of the United States
dialecticism
vssouthernism
  • Specialized
9.9

A word or expression used by a specific group of people

focuses on geographic words from one US region rather than social or academic use

Surface Forms

southernism singular
southernisms plural

Morphology

southernism = southern (transparent) = south + ern + ism

The adjective 'southern' is a regular formation from 'south' + '-ern' and clearly denotes relation to the south.

Etymology

The word southernism comes from southern (from south, 'the direction') and the part -ism ('a way or style'), so it means 'a southern way of speaking'. That's why a southernism is a word, phrase, or pronunciation you hear in the southern United States.