Southeast

How to spell southeast

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce southeast

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does southeast mean?

1. nounThe compass point or general region lying midway between south and east.
2. adjectiveSituated in, facing, or coming from the southeast.
3. adverbToward or in the direction of the southeast.

Southeast in a sentence

• noun

  The storm tracked steadily toward the southeast overnight.

• adjective

  A warm southeast wind brought rain to the coast.

• adverb

  The motorway runs southeast from the city centre.

• noun

  Most of the country's vineyards are clustered in the southeast.

• adjective

  Their cottage had a bright southeast kitchen that caught the morning sun.

• adverb

  They sailed southeast for three days before sighting land.

Where does southeast come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound that goes back to Old English suthēast, formed simply by joining suth, meaning 'south', with ēast, meaning 'east'. Both halves descend from common Germanic roots: the 'east' element is connected to an ancient word for dawn and the place where the sun rises, while 'south' is linked to ideas of the sunward side. Sailors and travellers naturally needed a single word for the point of the compass that lies between the two, so the languages of north-west Europe each fused their own versions, and Dutch zuidoost is a close cousin. The spelling has stayed transparent over the centuries precisely because both parts remained ordinary, recognisable words. That clarity is the main reason the modern trap is small: the only real question is whether to write it as one word, and standard usage settles firmly on the single closed form 'southeast'.

How the word is built

• south (the southern direction)
• east (the eastern direction)