Meaning

noun the compass point midway between south and west; at 225 degrees

noun the southwestern region of the United States generally including New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, California, and sometimes Utah and Colorado

noun the direction corresponding to the southwestward compass point

originFrom Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0