South Sudan
/ˌsaʊθ suːˈdɑːn/noun
A landlocked country in northeastern Africa that gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
Did you know?Sudan comes through Arabic as-sūdān, “the blacks,” a shortened form of bilād as-sūdān, “the lands of the Black people,” a medieval geographic term for sub-Saharan Africa.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sunþaz
“A reconstructed term associated with the southern direction, possibly “the sun-side” or “sunward”; the precise formation is debated.”
Old English
Old English
sūþ
“South, the direction associated with the sun’s position in the sky.”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
as-sūdān
“The blacks; a plural form of aswad, “black,” used in the expression bilād as-sūdān, “lands of the Black people.””
19th Century
English
Sudan
“The English geographic name adopted for the region south of the Sahara, derived from Arabic as-sūdān.”
20th Century
English
South Sudan
“The southern portion of Sudan, increasingly used as a political and geographic name.”
2011
English
South Sudan
“The independent country formally established after seceding from Sudan on 9 July 2011.”