South Car·o·li·na (k?r??-l??n?) Abbr. SC or S.C. A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, it was explored by the Spanish in the early 1500s but was granted by Charles II of England to eight of his principal supporters in 1663. The territory was divided into the colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina in 1729. South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. It was the first state to secede from the Union (1860), thus precipitating the Civil War. Columbia is the capital and the largest city.South Car?o·lin?i·an (-l?n??-?n) adj. & n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.South Carolina n (Placename) a state of the southeastern US, on the Atlantic: the first state to secede from the Union in 1860; consists largely of low-lying coastal plains, rising in the northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountains; the largest US textile producer. Capital: Columbia. Pop: 4 147 152 (2003 est). Area: 78 282 sq km (30 225 sq miles). Abbreviation and zip code: SC Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014South? Caroli?na n. a state in the SE United States, on the Atlantic coast. 4,012,012; 31,055 sq. mi. (80,430 sq. km). Cap.: Columbia. Abbr.: SC, S.C. South? Carolin?ian, n., adj. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.