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
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 27 July 2025
The side-arming southpaw has pitched in 48 games this season.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 25 July 2025
Adding Springs would give the Bronx Bombers a third southpaw at the top of their rotation.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
The southpaw went 8-0 with a 0.95 ERA and struck out 92 batters in 59 innings, walking only seven.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for southpaw
Cite this Entry
“Southpaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southpaw. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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southpaw
noun
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