Austral

Word of the Day for Thursday, September 27, 2012

Austral \AW-struhl\, adjective:

1. Southern.
2. (Initial capital letter) Australian.

That, at least, was not difficult to do; as they filtered through branches and thick treetops, the rays of the austral sun covered bodies and houses and all the objects of the inhabited area with undulating patterns of light and shadow that blended spectrally into random jungle forms.
-- Carlos Fuentes, Terra Nostra

The church, from the north, seems a precious stone, on its austral side it is blood-coloured, to the west white as snow, and above it shine countless stars more splendid than those in our sky.
-- Umberto Eco, Baudolino

Austral is derived from the Latin word austrālis meaning "southern."

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com