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(1a) The southernmost point of England is "Lizard Point". — I know it's correct
(1b) The most southern point of England is "Lizard Point". — I know it's incorrect
(1c) The most southerly point of England is "Lizard Point". — Is it correct?

(2a) The kiwi is the southernmost bird in the ostrich family. — Is it correct?
(2b) The kiwi is the most southern bird in the ostrich family. — I know it's correct
(2c) The kiwi is the most southerly bird in the ostrich family. — Is it correct?

Which of (1c), (2a) and (2c) are correct?

What is the difference between "southernmost", "most southern" and "most southerly"?

[(1a) and (2b) are from here. The other examples are mine.]

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    To my ear, the most southern does not sound acceptable. Your the most southerly is ok with geographic points, but most natural is southernmost. And none feels right to me for describing or comparing species. Their ranges? Yes, but not the species themselves. Maybe something like The kiwi lives the farthest south of all the birds in the ostrich family. All this goes equally for the other three cardinal directions too.
    – Paul Tanenbaum
    Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 19:48
  • @PaulTanenbaum: How do you feel about most northern, for places? Any difference between north and south?
    – TimR on some device
    Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 20:00
  • books.google.com/ngrams/…
    – TimR on some device
    Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 20:02
  • 1
    @TimR, see the final sentence in my previous comment. And re your n-gram… interesting. For me, the best use I can think of for most southern is something like, Shrimp and grits is the most southern dish of all. Note that there it doesn’t mean southernmost, but more like “prototypically southern.”
    – Paul Tanenbaum
    Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 20:07
  • 1
    "Southerly" is a general direction, e.g., "The wind is southerly." "Most" is absolute. Never the twain shall meet -- unless perhaps it's a northerly twain.
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Commented Sep 18, 2023 at 3:21

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(1a) The southernmost point of England is "The Lizard". — I know it's correct

Yes.

(1b) The most southern point of England is "The Lizard". — I know it's incorrect

Why is this incorrect? I would say "not best," but not incorrect English.

(1c) The most southerly point of England is "The Lizard". — Is it correct?

This is incorrect or close to it. Worse than 1b.

(2a) The kiwi is the southernmost bird in the ostrich family. — Is it correct?

The bird itself is not southernmost, the geographical distribution or range of the bird is southernmost. However, this is a bit pedantic, and it is correct.

(2b) The kiwi is the most southern bird in the ostrich family. — I know it's correct

Yes.

(2c) The kiwi is the most southerly bird in the ostrich family. — Is it correct?

It's close to incorrect, because it sounds bad.

What is the difference between "southernmost", "most southern" and "most southerly"?

Not much. They're synonyms. But:

Southernmost:

Often used with the phrase "the southernmost point" specifically. Often used to describe a single thing as opposed to a group of things. Example: "southernmost towns" sounds weird, most southern towns is fine, and southernmost town is fine

Most southern:

Good for general use. OK with groups of things. Example: most southern towns sounds normal, most southern towns also sounds normal.

Southerly:

Use this when describing a ship at sea, winds, or the direction of south as opposed to the location of south. If you use this, you may sound artistic or anachronous, depending on how you use it and in what context.

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