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
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 23 Feb. 2025
Now that Blake Snell has signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fried is the next-best southpaw available via free agency.
—Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
The southpaw scattered just four more base runners across the next four frames.
—Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 24 Aug. 2024
That's 50 points higher than what the Yankees as a team were able to manage against southpaws in 2024.
—Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Southpaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southpaw. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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southpaw
noun
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