southpaw
noun
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Southpaw is of obscure origin. A popular theory holds that it comes from the onetime position of ballparks in relation to the sun. Supposedly, late 19th-century ballparks were laid out so that the pitcher looked in a westerly direction when facing the batter. The throwing arm of a left-handed pitcher would then be to the south-hence the name southpaw. This theory of its origin is undermined, however, by the fact that the original use of southpaw does not involve baseball at all. Rather, the term was used as early as 1848 to describe, simply, the left hand or a punch or blow given with the left hand. Today, we often use southpaw as a good-natured term for a left-handed person, but the word is sometimes viewed as stigmatizing by left-handed people.
Examples of southpaw in a Sentence
Aaron Gleeman, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
The New York Yankees signed left-handed pitcher Max Fried earlier this offseason which placed the southpaw atop the Yankees' rotation next to Gerrit Cole.
—Zach Pressnell, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
The southpaw from Shypyntsi, Ukraine coincidentally shares a birthday – January 17 – with the late Muhammad Ali.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 Dec. 2024
The southpaw was often a Saturday starter for a North Carolina rotation that led its team to the College World Series.
—Matt Feld, Boston Herald, 16 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Southpaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southpaw. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.
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southpaw
noun
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