Definition of "southerner" [south•ern•er]

• A native or inhabitant of the south, especially the southern United States. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Instead spoke about states right, which was, as you well know as a southerner, a code word for what a lot of people believe to be racism."
• "I have lived all over this great country and the true test of an authentic southerner is how he (she) phrases the above mentioned conflict, civil war, (northern term) war between the states (Midwesterner), war of northern aggression (true southern child)."
• "Perhaps Ray Marshall's days as a kid football player may help explain why this quiet southerner is holding his own in Washington."