From Middle Englishso, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old Englishswā, swǣ, swē(“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic*swā, from Proto-Germanic*swa, *swē(“so”), from Proto-Indo-European*swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scotssae(“so”), West Frisiansa(“so”), Low Germanso(“so”), Dutchzo(“so”), Germanso(“so”), Danishså(“so”), Norwegian Nynorskso, Swedish så ("so, such that"), Old Latinsuad(“so”), Albaniansa(“how much, so, as”), Ancient Greekὡς(hōs, “as”), Urduسو (sō, “hence”)
Reduced form of 'so that', used to express purpose; in order that.
With the result that; for that reason; therefore.
Used to connect previous conversation or events to the following question.
Used to introduce a rhetorical question.
(archaic) Provided that; on condition that, as long as.
1594, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III, Scene 1,[2]
Speed. ‘Item: She doth talk in her sleep.’
Launce. It’s no matter for that, so she sleep not in her talk.
1644, John Milton, Areopagitica, London, p. 35,[3]
[…] though all the windes of doctrin were let loose play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licencing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength.
1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, p. 111,[4]
I went away very well satisfy’d, not caring where I was sent, so it was but out of his Sight; for he now became more my Aversion than ever.
Usage notes
Chiefly in North American use, a comma or pause is often used before the conjunction when used in the sense with the result that. (A similar meaning can often be achieved by using a semicolon or colon (without the so), as for example: He drank the poison; he died.)
Synonyms
(in order that):so that, that
Translations
Adverb
so (not comparable)
To the (explicitly stated) extent that.
(informal) To the (implied) extent.
(informal) Very (positive clause).
I feel so much better now.
Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
(informal) Very (negative clause).
(slang, chiefly US) Very much.
1963, Mike Hawker, Ivor Raymonde (music and lyrics), Dusty Springfield (vocalist), I Only Want to Be with You (single),
Don′t know what it is that makes me love you so, / I only know I never want to let you go.
In a particular manner.
In the same manner or to the same extent as aforementioned; also.
‘There're another two.’ ‘So there are.’
1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V
"Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow," quoth Robin, "thou seemest happy this merry morn." ¶ "Ay, that am I," quoth the jolly Butcher, "and why should I not be so? Am I not hale in wind and limb? Have I not the bonniest lass in all Nottinghamshire? And lastly, am I not to be married to her on Thursday next in sweet Locksley Town?"
(with as): To such an extent or degree; as.
Usage notes
Use of so in the sense to the implied extent is discouraged in formal writing; spoken intonation which might render the usage clearer is not usually apparent to the reader, who might reasonably expect the extent to be made explicit. For example, the reader may expect He is so good to be followed by an explanation or consequence of how good he is. Devices such as use of underscoring and the exclamation mark may be used as a means of clarifying that the implicit usage is intended; capitalising SO is also used. The derivative subsenses very and very much are similarly more apparent with spoken exaggerated intonation.
The difference between so and very in implied-extent usage is that very is more descriptive or matter-of-fact, while so indicates more emotional involvement. For example, she is very clever is a simple statement of opinion; she is so clever suggests admiration. Likewise, that is very typical is a simple statement; that is SO typical of him! is an indictment. A formal (and reserved) apology may be expressed I am very sorry, but after elbowing someone in the nose during a basketball game, a man might say, Dude, I am so sorry! in order to ensure that it's understood as an accident.
Synonyms
(very):really, truly, that, very
(to a particular extent):that, this, yea
(in a particular manner):like this, thus
(slang: very much):really, truly, very much
Derived terms
Translations
References
Adjective
so (comparativemore so, superlativemost so)
True, accurate.
“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
In that state or manner; with that attribute. A proadjective that replaces the aforementioned adjective phrase.
1823, Andrew Reed, Martha
If this separation was painful to all parties, it was most so to Martha.
1872, Charles Dickens, J., The Personal History of David Copperfield
But if I had been more fit to be married, I might have made you more so too.
(dated, Britain, slang) Homosexual.
Synonyms
(true):correct, right, true
(euphemistic: homosexual):musical, one of the family, one of them, that way inclined
Derived terms
make it so
more so
Translations
Interjection
so
Used after a pause for thought to introduce a new topic, question or story, or a new thought or question in continuation of an existing topic.
Synonyms:look, well, see, hey
Used as a question to ask for further explanation of something said, often rhetorically or in a dismissive or impolite manner.
Used as a meaningless filler word to begin a response to a question.
What are you doing? / So I'm just fixing this shelf.
What time does the train leave? / So it leaves at 10 o'clock.
(archaic) Be as you are; stand still; used especially to cows; also used by sailors.
Usage notes
Though certain uses of "sentence-initial so" had been common for a long time, the perceived excessive use of the word at the start of sentences, such as at the start of answers to questions, became controversial in the 2010s, being described as "annoying".
Translations
Etymology 2
Pronoun
so
Abbreviation of someone.
Synonyms
sb(“somebody”)
Etymology 3
Shortened from sol, to make it an open syllable for uniformity with the rest of the scale.
Noun
so (pluralsos)
(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the fifth note of a major scale.
Translations
Etymology 4
Borrowed from Japanese蘇(so).
Noun
so (uncountable)
(foods) A type of dairy product, made especially in Japan between the seventh and 10th centuries, by reducing milk by boiling it.
See also
So (dairy product) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Another photo of so at Wikicommons
Further reading
so at OneLook Dictionary Search
so in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
References
Anagrams
-os, -os-, O&S, O's, O. S., O.S., OS, OS., Os, o's, o.s., os
Aiwoo
Verb
so
to stand (be in a standing position)
References
Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007) , “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, issue 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.
Asturian
Etymology 1
From Latinsub.
Preposition
so
under
Derived terms
sol
Etymology 2
From Latinsuus(“his, her, its”)
Adjective
som sg (feminine singularso, neuter singularso, masculine pluralsos, feminine pluralsos)
his, her, its
your (polite)
their
Pronoun
so
his, hers
yours (polite)
Related terms
suyu
Etymology 3
Alternative forms
soi
Verb
so
first-person singular present indicative of ser
Basque
Noun
so
look
Brokskat
Pronoun
so
he
Catalan
Pronunciation
(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈsɔ/
Etymology 1
From Old Occitanson (compare Occitanson), from Latinsonus (compare Frenchson, Spanishson, sueno, Italiansuono).
Noun
som (pluralsons)
sound
Related terms
sonar
sònic
Etymology 2
Verb
so
Obsolete spelling of só
Further reading
“so” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“so” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
“so” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
“so” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Corsican
Etymology
From Vulgar Latinsum, from Latinsuum, from Proto-Italic*sowos, from Proto-Indo-European*sewos. Cognates include Italiansuo and Frenchson.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈso/
Determiner
so
his, her, their
Usage notes
so is preceded by a definite article (u, a, i, e or l'):
Unlike its French or Italian cognates, so does not decline, either by gender or number:
References
“so” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norsesýr, from Proto-Germanic*sūz, from Proto-Indo-European*sū-.
From Old Norsesvá, from Proto-Germanic*swa, *swē. Cognate with Swedishså.
Adverb
so
so, like that, in that manner
so, to such a degree
Esperanto
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Hyphenation: so
Noun
so (accusative singularso-on, pluralso-oj, accusative pluralso-ojn)
The name of the Latin-script letter S.
See also
(Latin-script letter names)litero; a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo
Faroese
Etymology
From Old Norsesvá, from Proto-Germanic*swa, *swē(“so”), from Proto-Indo-European*swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /soː/
Rhymes: -oː
Homophone: soð
Adverb
so (not comparable)
so, thus, as
then
Folopa
Alternative forms
sou
Noun
so
woman
References
Karl James Franklin, Pacific Linguistics (1973, →ISBN, page 130: Polopa so/sou woman, cf. DAR sou female animal but we woman.
Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 15: Boro, Suri, Tebera sou, Sopese šo
Carol Anderson, Beginning Folopa Language Lessons and Simple Glossary (2010) (as so)
Friulian
Etymology
From Latinsuus.
Pronoun
so (third-person singular possessive of masculine singular, of feminine singularsô, of masculine pluralsiei, of feminine pluralsôs)
(used attributively) his, her, its; of his, hers, its
(used predicatively) his, hers, its
(used substantively) his, hers, its; the thing belonging to him, her,it
See also
gno
lôr
nestri
to
vuestri
Galician
Alternative forms
su
Etymology
From Old Galician and Old Portugueseso, su, sob, from Latinsub.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [sʊ]
Preposition
so
under, beneath
References
“so” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
“so” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic*swā, from Proto-Germanic*swa, *swē, compare with Old Dutchso and Dutchzo.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /zoː/
Rhymes: -oː
Adverb
so
so, such, that
as (followed by an adjective or adverb plus wie in a statement of equality)
thus, like this/that, in this/that way, in this/that manner
then (in that case)
(colloquial)expletive; sometimes intensifying, sometimes with no noticeable meaning
Derived terms
einfach so
Conjunction
so
(archaic) an, if
Synonyms
falls
Pronoun
so
(obsolete, relative) that, which, who
(Augsburger Bekenntnis)
Synonyms
der
welcher
Gothic
Romanization
sō
Romanization of 𐍃𐍉
Indonesian
Adverb
so
Alternative form of sok
Irish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /sˠɔ/
Determiner
so
Munster form of seo(used after a word ending in a velarized (“broad”) consonant)
1939, Peig Sayers, “Inghean an Cheannaidhe”, printed in Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry, Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études 270. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, p. 193:
Further reading
"so" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
Italian
Alternative forms
sò(misspelling)
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈsɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Verb
so
first-person singular present indicative of sapere(“I know”)
Japanese
Romanization
so
Rōmaji transcription of そ
Rōmaji transcription of ソ
Ladino
Verb
so (Latin spelling)
first-person singular present indicative of ser
Luxembourgish
Verb
so
second-person singular imperative of soen
Mauritian Creole
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Etymology 1
From Frenchson
Pronoun
so
(possessive) his, her, its, one's
Etymology 2
From Frenchchaud
Adjective
so
hot, warm.
Antonyms
fre
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old Dutchsō, from Proto-West Germanic*swā, from Proto-Germanic*swa.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /zoː/
Adverb
sô
so, like that, in that manner
so, to such a degree
(so ... alse) as
then, in that case
so, therefore
Conjunction
sô
if, in the case that
like, as
(so ... so) both ... and
Descendants
Dutch: zo
Limburgish: zoe, zoea
Etymology 2
Weakened form of soe.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /zoː/, /zo/
Pronoun
sô
(chiefly Flemish)Alternative form of si(“she”)
Further reading
“so (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
“so (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “so”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Middle English
Pronoun
so
(chiefly Northern dialectal)Alternative form of sche
Northern Sami
Etymology
Borrowed from Norwegianså.
Pronunciation
Adverb
so
so, then, in that case
so, to this or that extent
Further reading
Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002-2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages[5], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
så
Etymology
From Old Norsesvá, from Proto-Indo-European*swa. Akin to Englishso.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /suː/
Adverb
so
so
that
as
then
Conjunction
so
so
References
“so” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitanso, from Latinipsum.
Article
so (femininesa, masculine pluralsos, feminine pluralsas)
Alternative form of lo (rare)
Usage notes
In the Provençal dialect, the masculine and feminine plural is sei.
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic*swā, from Proto-Germanic*swa.
Adverb
sō
so, like that, in that manner
Descendants
Middle Dutch: sô
Dutch: zo
Limburgish: zoe, zoea
Further reading
“sō (I)”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012
Old Irish
Alternative forms
sa, se, sea, seo, siu
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic*so(“this”), from Proto-Indo-European*só.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Determiner
so
this (used after the noun, which is preceded by the definite article)
Derived terms
Descendants
Irish: seo
Scottish Gaelic: seo
Manx: shoh
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic*swā, from Proto-Germanic*swa.
Adverb
sō
so, like that, in that manner
Pali
Alternative forms
Pronoun
so
he, it
Adjective
so
masculine nominative singular of ta(“that”)
Phalura
Etymology 1
From Sanskritस ; सो(sa ; so, “nom.sg.masc pron. and pronom. adj. he, that”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Determiner
so (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spellingسوۡ)
the
that (agr: rem nom masc)
References
Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[6], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) , “(12815)”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Pronoun
so (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spellingسوۡ)
it
he (rem masc nom)
References
Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[7], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Rawa
Noun
so
grass
References
Norma Toland, Donald Toland, Reference Grammar of the Karo/Rawa Language (1991)
Romani
Adverb
so
what
Rwanda-Rundi
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu*có.
Noun
só1a (pluralbāsó2a)
your father
your paternal uncle
Serbo-Croatian
Alternative forms
sȏl (Croatian)
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*solь, from Proto-Indo-European*seh₂ls.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /sôː/
Noun
sȏf (Cyrillic spellingсо̑)
(Bosnia, Serbia) salt
Declension
Slavomolisano
Etymology
From Serbo-Croatianso.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /so/
Noun
som
salt
Declension
References
Walter Breu and Giovanni Piccoli (2000), Dizionario croato molisano di Acquaviva Collecroce: Dizionario plurilingue della lingua slava della minoranza di provenienza dalmata di Acquaviva Collecroce in Provincia di Campobasso (Parte grammaticale).
Slovak
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /sɔ/
Preposition
so (+ instrumental)
with
Synonyms
s
Further reading
so in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk
Slovene
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /sɔ́/
Verb
sȍ
third-person plural present of bíti
Spanish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈso/
Etymology 1
From Latinsub, from Proto-Italic*supo, from Proto-Indo-European*upo.
Preposition
so
(archaic) under
Usage notes
So is very rare in modern Spanish, surviving only in certain expressions, including so pena de(“on pain of, under penalty of”), so pretexto de or so color de(“under pretext of”), a so capa(“secretly, with bribery”).
Pronoun
so
you (emphatic, derogatory)
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Englishso.
Interjection
so
(US, Puerto Rico, El Salvador) so
Etymology 3
Interjection
so
whoa!
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norsesýr, from Proto-Germanic*sūz, from Proto-Indo-European*sū-.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /suː/
Homophone: zoo
Noun
soc
(rare) sow, female pig
Usage notes
The more common synonym is sugga, especially for the plural form.
Declension
Synonyms
sugga
Anagrams
OS, os
Tok Pisin
Etymology 1
From Englishsaw.
Noun
so
saw
Etymology 2
From Englishshow.
Noun
so
show
Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic*soo.
Noun
so
swamp, marsh, bog
Inflection
Derived terms
sohein
sokesk
References
Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007) , “болото”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
(Hà Nội) IPA(key): [sɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA(key): [ʂɔ˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʂɔ˧˧] ~ [sɔ˧˧]
Etymology 1
Verb
so
(transitive) to compare
(transitive) to pair up
(intransitive) to straighten one's shoulders, as if to compare one's height to another's