Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb To the amount or degree expressed or understood; to such an extent.
  • adverb To a great extent; to such an evident degree.
  • adverb Afterward; then.
  • adverb Used to preface a remark or signal a new subject.
  • adverb In the same way; likewise.
  • adverb Apparently; well, then. Used in expressing astonishment, disapproval, or sarcasm.
  • adverb In truth; indeed; assuredly.
  • adverb Informal Used as an intensive, especially with verbs or verb phrases.
  • adverb In the condition or manner expressed or indicated; thus.
  • adjective True; factual.
  • adjective In good order.
  • conjunction For that reason; therefore.
  • conjunction With the result or consequence that.
  • conjunction With the purpose that.
  • pronoun Such as has already been suggested or specified; the same or roughly the same.
  • interjection Used to express surprise or comprehension.
  • idiom (so as to) In order to.
  • idiom (so that) With the purpose that.
  • idiom (so that) With the result or consequence that.
  • idiom (so what) Used to express contempt or lack of interest.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See soe.
  • In, of, or to that degree; to an amount, extent, proportion or intensity specified, implied, or understood: used in various constructions.
  • In the same sense so sometimes modifies a verb.
  • With an adjective, adverb, or verb only, the consequent being omitted or ignored, and the degree being fixed by previous statements or by the circumstances of the case.
  • Followed by that, as, or but, introducing a clause or an infinitive phrase noting result.
  • In this sense sometimes followed by a phrase or clause of result without any connective.
  • Of or to the following degree, extent, amount, etc.; thus.
  • In that manner; in such manner (as the context indicates).
  • In the manner explained by a correlative as (or so or how) and a subordinate clause.
  • In the following manner; as follows; thus.
  • In the manner previously noted or understood.
  • Still gath'ring force, it smokes; and, urg'd amain, Whirls, leaps, and thunders down impetuous to the plain;
  • In such a manner: followed by that or as, with a clause or phrase of result.
  • By this or that means; by virtue of or because of this or that; for that reason; therefore; on those terms or conditions: often with a conjunctive quality (see II.).
  • In a like manner, degree, proportion, etc.; correspondingly; likewise: with a correlative clause (usually with as) expressed or understood.
  • In such way as aforesaid; in the aforesaid state or condition; the same: a pronominal adverb used especially for the sake of avoiding repetition.
  • As aforesaid; precisely as stated; in very truth; in accordance with fact; verily.
  • Such being the ease; accordingly; therefore; well, then: used in continuation, with a conjunctive quality.
  • In an indefinite degree; extremely: as, you are so kind; we were so delighted.
  • Then; thereafter.
  • An abbreviation of so be it: implying acquiescence, assent, or approbation.
  • An abbreviation of is it so? as, He leaves us to-day. So?
  • In asseveration, and frequently with an ellipsis: as, I declare I did not, so help me God!
  • As an indefinite particle: Ever; at all: now used only in composition, as in whoso, whosoever, whatsoever, etc.
  • In proportion as.
  • So long as; provided that.
  • With the purpose or result that; to that degree that: now followed by an infinitive phrase, or, in dialectal use, a clause of purpose or result.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English swā; see swo- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English so, swo, from Old English swā ("so, as, the same, such, that"), from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scots sae ("so"), West Frisian sa ("so"), Dutch zo ("so"), German so ("so"), Danish  ("so"), Old Latin suad ("so"), Albanian sa ("how much, so, as"), Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs, "as").

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Examples

  • And as for comedy my favorite role is that in 50 First Dates..so stupid but so funny and so out of character for Sean Astin.

    Sean Astin takes the EW Pop Culture Personality Test, admits he cries at everything, and reveals plans for his feature directorial debut | EW.com 2010

  • June 14, 2010 at 8:14 pm hello….um im new to this so dont get mad if i say wtf allot cuz i get comfused alot lol…..so i have a cat i guess whatever hid name is spooky idk why its jus cuz he gets scared like so freaking bad…oh and ive noticed chu guys have talked like whatever ..

    but….. u sed u lubbed me…. - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2010

  • They say things that are flat lies and get away with it because we're not paying attention or just write them off as * that's just so and so* which is the same pass McCain is getting in his lies.

    Obama Campaign: McCain Is A Reckless Hothead 2009

  • Listening to the radio took second place and watching television news was \ "so so\" at best.

    Don Hewitt: Remembering Edward R. Murrow 2009

  • I ended up giving away my decant to her after our initial smelling session because she loved it so, and because it smelled *so* much better on her than it did on me.

    Hilde Soliani Stecca: Perfume Review Marina Geigert 2009

  • I have a shop to take care of , business is down in the dumps and so I shoot pictures with a heavy heart and some guilt..recession in the Industry has completely broken this camels back..so I make do with shooting street scenes , and my grand daughter ..

    Archive 2009-05-01 photographerno1 2009

  •   They are much alike, he and she, but she is the eighth fairy, black morbid artsy type, head shaking with spite and injustice at being uninvited to his life for so long,  so she says the above to pain him and succeeds.

    Flax 2009

  • Maybe end of this December tell us more,…Nibiru could be very densty body, something like mini black hole, neutron star or core of destroyed brown dwarf,..so heavy but small,…and so invisible for clasical telescopes,..

    2012: NASA's Scientific Reality Check | Universe Today 2009

  • Its policies benefit the top 1% solely, so how do they get another 45 or so% to vote for them?

    It hasn't changed. 2008

  • As the details were revealed, I thought of our soldiers and their families ..so brave, yet going though a tragic time right now ... and yet so selfishly, so much wanting to hold onto my son.

    Archive 2008-08-01 Military Mom 2008

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