Severe, the south wind close to shore (7)
I believe the answer is:
austere
'severe' is the definition.
('austere' can be a synonym of 'severe')
'the south wind close to shore' is the wordplay.
'the south wind' becomes 'auster' (I've seen this before).
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'shore' is 'e'.
'auster'+'e'='AUSTERE'
(Other definitions for austere that I've seen before include "Stern or very plain" , "Serious" , "Stark" , "Grim -- a US tree (anag)" , "Severe in manner" .)