southpaw
/ˈsaʊθˌpɔː/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
cot caught merger/ˈsaʊθˌpɑ/
southpaw noun: one who is left-handed, especially in sports.
Noun
southpaw (plural southpaws)
- One who is left-handed, especially in sports.
- Never touch the food until your host has said grace ("Bismillah") and then not till he has told you to. Eat only with your right hand—it is considered very rude to use the left, even if you are a southpaw.1943, United States Army, A short guide to Syria
- Synonyms:
- left-hander, lefty
- Antonyms:
- northpaw, right-hander
- A left-handed pitcher.
- Since home plate is generally in the southwest corner to avoid glare in the batter's eyes, a southpaw's pitching hand is to the south.
- Eleanor would pitch, probably southpaw. Rosalind was outfield, wonderful hitter, Clara first base, maybe.1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise/Book Two/Chapter 5, Book Two/Chapter 5
- A boxer who leads with the right hand and guards with the left.
southpaw meaning in Tamil and Tagalog
southpaw in Tamil
- இடங்கையர், இடக்கை ஆட்டக்காரர்
southpaw in Tagalog
- informal: one who is left-handed
- kaliwete
Synonyms of southpaw
Antonyms
Forms of southpaw
| plural | southpaws |
|---|---|
| alternative form | south paw |
Origin of southpaw
From south + paw. The original derivation is unclear: although now best known from the sport of baseball, the term is first attested in 1813, before baseball was founded. Suggested theories include: For Boxing: * Evidence suggests the term existed before baseball, being used in the 1840s to describe a left-handed punch or "paw" in boxing. A 1848 political cartoon described a "south paw" blow in this context. For Baseball: * Early 19th-century ballparks were often built with home plate on the west side and the pitcher's mound on the east to prevent the sun from being in the batter's eyes. Consequently, a left-handed pitcher's arm would be facing the southern side of the diamond. However, the term was originally used to refer to position players rather than pitchers.
Questions about southpaw
- What does southpaw mean?
- Southpaw means one who is left-handed, especially in sports.
- What is southpaw in Tamil?
- Southpaw in Tamil is இடங்கையர், இடக்கை ஆட்டக்காரர். See Southpaw meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is southpaw?
- Southpaw is a noun.
- How do you pronounce southpaw?
- Southpaw is pronounced /ˈsaʊθˌpɔː/.
- What is the plural of southpaw?
- The plural of southpaw is southpaws.
Words near southpaw in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: southpaw (page history and authors); southpaw (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-southpaw.ogg, en-au-southpaw.ogg.
Cite this entry: “southpaw.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/southpaw. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.