| 释义 |
▪ I. so, adv. and conj.|səʊ|
Forms: (see below).
[Common Teut.: OE. swa, swā (also swǣ, swē, etc.), = OFris. sa, so (Fris. sa, so, sô, sü, etc.), MDu. so, soo, soe (Du. zoo), OS. sô (MLG. so, LG. so, sou), OHG. sô, suo (MHG. sô, sâ, G. so), ON. svá (Icel. svo, † so, Norw. and Da. saa, Sw. så), Goth. swa (also swē). The precise relation of some of these forms to each other, and the ultimate origin of the stem, are uncertain.
In OE. frequently strengthened by a preceding eall (all): for the subsequent history of this see also and as.]
A. Illustration of forms.
1. (α) 1 suae, suæ (suoæ), swæ.
c725Corpus Gl. (Hessels) Q 18 Quantisper, suae suiðe. 805Charter in O.E. Texts 442 Suæ hueðer hiora suæ leng lifes. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiv. §9 Swæ me ðincð. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 32 Suoæ þæt fleᵹendo heofnes cymes.
(β) 1 sue, suue, 1, 3 swe.
c700Cædmon Hymn 3 Sue he uundra ᵹihuaes..or astelidæ. c825Vesp. Psalter ii. 9 Swe swe fet lames. c875Erfurt Gloss., Quacumque, suue suidae. 971Blickl. Hom. 23 Swe we nu ᵹeearnian willaþ. c1205Lay. 29805 And swe he dude seoððe.
(γ) 1–3 se (2 sæ).
c831Charter in O.E. Texts 446 Suelc mon se ðet lond hebbe. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, War sæ me tilede. Ibid. an. 1140, Ware se he com. a1225Leg. Kath. 49 Se wide se þet lond wes.
2. (Only OE., north., and Sc.) (α) 1–7 swa (5 swaa), 1, 4–7 sua, 4 squa; 6 sway, suay, swae.
Beowulf 29 Swa he selfa bæd. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. v. 31 Sua hua forletas wif his. c1200Ormin Ded. 107 Þatt he't write swa. c1325Metr. Hom. 6 That it be sua. c1375Cursor M. 522 (Fairf.), Squa ys þe firmament. a1400Syr Perc. 524, I rede at it be swaa! c1470Henry Wallace i. 250 Thai left him swa. 1537Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 413 And sway to continue. 1539Lib. Officialis Sti. Andree (Abbotsford Cl.) 85 Suay þat þe said mareage cum nocht to effect. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 274 Sua sal ȝe find na place. 1597Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae (ed. 2) 502 Thou sal sie it swae. a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Spalding Cl.) I. 88 Right sua Caithness, Sutherland [etc.]. 1678Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xxi. ii. (1699) 111 In swa far as he came.
(β) 5–7, 9 sa, 6 saa.
a1400–50Alexander 259 Sa clere a witt & sa clene. 1513Douglas æneid i. i. 16 Sa feill dangeris. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 104 Althoch neuir saa Just. 1673Yorkshire Dial. 4 (E.D.S.), Thou stayes sa lang. 1801Lonsdale Dial. 4 (E.D.S.), I sat up sa lang yesternete. 1887Hall Caine Son of Hagar i. i, The..days you crack on sa often.
(γ) 5–6 say, 7– sae; 6, 9 sea, 7 seay; 6, 9 see, 9 seea.
14..Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Mary Egypt) 290 Lyand say one athyr syd. 1533Gau Richt Vay 102 Say greit faith. c1566Merie Tales of Skelton S.'s Wks. 1843 I. p. lviii, In gewd faith, saith the Kendallman, do see. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 899 Threttie pundis he conqueist sea. c1620A. Hume Brit. Tongue 17 Sae soft a mynt. 1684Yorkshire Dial. 15 (E.D.S.), What need thou be seay flaid? 1728Ramsay Anacreontic on Love 12, I thought it sae. 1785Burns 2nd Ep. Lapraik vii, Sae I've begun to scrawl. 1808J. Stagg Misc. Poems 143 Suld ye..be sea daft. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xvi, Do sae, minister—do sae.
3. (α) 2–3 swo, 3 suo, 4 zuo.
a1200Vices & Virtues 33 Swo he mai me folȝin. c1275Passion our Lord 543 in O.E. Misc., Iesus crist þet suo aros. 1340Ayenb. 1 Zuo by hit.
(β) 3– so, 4–6 soo, 5–7 soe; dial. 8–9 soa, zo, 9 soo, zoo, zaw, etc.
a1240in O.E. Hom. I. 203 Nere þe heorte so cold. a1300Cursor M. 16762 + 41 Mony grete clerkez..Seghen þe son fare soo. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 43 Þat his broþer..was so i-slawe. a1400–50Alexander 4772 Þat þai suld wax soo. c1420Avow. Arth. xxiv, Is hit soe? 1482Cely Papers (Camden) 131, Y would nott a wreten so. 1557Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 463 The fynes..soo by hym not executed. 1683Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 71 Which was soe done. 1746Exmoor Scolding 195 (E.D.S.), And more an zo. 1785W. Hutton Bran New Wark 421 (E.D.S.), Soa far fra loving the man. 1867Rock Jim an' Nell xcv, Zo let us muve along.
B. Signification.
I.
1. In the way or manner described, indicated, or suggested; in that style or fashion.
Contextually the sense may be ‘in the same way’, ‘by that means’, etc. For the elliptic phrase so please you, etc., see please v. 3 c.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §3 Ᵹelefst ðu þæt..auht godes swa ᵹeweorðan mæᵹe butan þæ m wyrhtan. c1200Ormin Ded. 44 Icc hafe sett her..maniȝ word Þe rime swa to fillenn. a1250Prov. ælfred 350 So me may þane loþe lengust lede. a1300Cursor M. 19005 Fra dede to lijf nu resin es he,..Raisd sua wid godds might. c1386Chaucer Prol. 102 A Yeman had he, and servantes nomoo At that tyme, for him luste ride soo. a1450Mirk's Festial 26 A well yn Rome of watyr turned ynto oyle and ran soo all þat day. 1563Homilies ii. Right Use Ch. i. (1859) 154 His heavenly grace, wherewith he..endueth his people so there assembled. 1580in W. H. Hale Prec. Causes of Office (1841) 85 They had in their church a godly interlude..Dominus monuit that herafter they do not so prophane their churche. 1643Denham Cooper's Hill 202 For so our Children, thus our Friends, we love. 1725Pope Odyss. iv. 159 So moves..The silver-shafted goddess of the chace! 1780Mirror No. 106, A person, engaged in the ordinary business of life,..and, while so engaged [etc.]. 1840Thackeray Shabby-genteel Story viii, There was the woman at Pau; and that girl..at Vienna. He went on just so about them all. 1874T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xx, ‘You don't hold the shears right, miss... Incline the edge so,’ he said.
2. a. With the verbs do, say, think, etc., latterly assuming the function of an object and passing into the sense of ‘that’.
Placed either after or before the verb; but the latter order is now only literary and archaic, as in the phrase so to do (after quot. 1552).
(a)c825Vesp. Psalter cxlvii. 20 Ne dyde swe ylcre cneorisse. c1000Ags. Gosp. John xviii. 22 Andswarast ðu swa? c1055Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 301 Do eall swa be eallum þam oðrum. c1205Lay. 2348 Ah ne dude he nawiht swo. a1300Cursor M. 13056 Qui sais þou sua? 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 90 Þe Tixt telleþ not so. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxiii. 224 Offreþ þe lombes of Innocensye, For he comaundet so. c1450in Aungier Hist. Syon (1840) 251, I haue not in mende that I seyd so or dyd so. a1536Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 21 Pesse, dere son, tell me not soo. 1611Bible Isaiah xx. 2 And he did so, walking naked. 1697J. Lewis Mem. Dk. Glocester (1789) 24 When the Princess asked him, who taught him so? he said, Lewis. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxviii, ‘I must believe so, sir,’ replied Emily. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxiii, It was now the presiding Judge's turn to address the jury. He did so briefly and distinctly. a1834Coleridge Confess. Enq. Spirit iii. (1840) 37, I cannot doubt that they think so. 1892Law Times Rep. LXVII. 252/1 If this had not been true, the pilot would have taken very good care to tell us so.
(b)a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 656, Ða seonde se kyning æfter þone abbode, þet he æuestlice scolde to him cumon, & he swa dyde. a1275Prov. ælfred 292 Ȝif he for-swunken swoti wuere, swo hie ne þochte. a1300Cursor M. 4933 Sa þai me tald. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 123 Yf ye So do, ye may haue hoppe [etc.]. 1496Cov. Leet Book 572 Þat they may be compelled so to do. 1535Coverdale Judith vi. 17 He tolde them..how Holofernes people wolde haue slayne him for so sayenge. 1552Bk. Common Prayer, Morning Prayer, Yet oughte we most chiefly so to doe, when [etc.]. 1660Sharrock Vegetables 16 You must not sow them too thick, for so doing hath lost many a peck of seed. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf xiv, So exclaimed Ellieslaw. 1844Disraeli Coningsby v. iii, So saying, the secretary effected his escape. 1888Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. xxxiv. 521 Some State legislatures have affected so to do.
b. With auxiliary verbs in elliptic use (requiring the addition of do or to do). Sometimes emphasizing a previous statement (quot. 1777).
Beowulf 797 Ðær hie meahton swa. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xv. 49 Me thunketh myn herte breketh a tuo; Suete God, whi shal hit swo? a1400Isumbras 57 In ȝouthe I maye bothe ryde and goo, When I ame alde I may nott so. a1425Cursor M. 9342 (Trin.), Kyngis anoynt ȝe haue to⁓fore; So shul ȝe þenne no more. c1475Babees Bk. 127 Now must I telle in shorte, for I muste so [i.e. in brief], Youre observaunce that ye shalle done. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 262 Brut[us]. Repaire to th' Capitoll. All. We will so. 1777Sheridan Trip Scarb. iii. iv, It's well I have a husband a-coming, or ecod I'd marry the baker, I would so. 1860Ruskin Unto this Last iv. §81 All England may, if it so chooses, become one manufacturing town. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxi. 97 Forth, fair bride, to the people, if So it likes you.
c. In this way; thus; as follows.
a1250Prov. ælfred 405 For so seyde Salomon, þe wise: ‘Þe mon þat her wel deþ’ [etc.]. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. i. 480 For when it es born it cryes swa: If it be man it says ‘a. a’ [etc.]. c1440Promp. Parv. 462 So, or on thys wyse,..sic, siccine. 1611Bible Isaiah xviii. 4 For so the Lord sayd vnto me; I will take my rest [etc.]. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair vi, How Amelia trembled as she opened it! So it ran—[etc.].
3. a. Used as predicate with the verb be.
In literary use still placed before the verb for emphasis, or in archaic phrases, as so be it (formerly used as a rendering of amen).
(a) Beowulf 1471 Ne wæs þæm oðrum swa. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §7 Ac ðeah hi his nu næfre ne ᵹe⁓lefen, ðeah hit is swa. a1000Rel. Ant. I. 35 Ic ᵹe-lyfe on..þat ece lif. Sy it swa. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 55, I praye God, if it were so, I strangle of þis brede. a1400–50Alexander 179 Sen it is sett to be soo, & slipe it ne may. 1530Palsgr. 586 I holde you a noble it is nat so. 1611Bible Judges vi. 38 If the deaw be on the fleece onely... And it was so. 1697Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. i. (1703) 164 You argue from fact to necessity; 'Tis so, therefore it must be so. 1756Burke Vind. Nat. Soc. Wks. I. 27 It is always so; but was here emphatically so. 1821Scott Kenilw. xviii, If this be all so, is it not reasonable [etc.]. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley xxiii, I pray that it may be so, but I cannot think that it is so—I cannot even hope that it is so. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxvii. 246 No! Is that so?
(b)c1000ælfric Exod. x. 11 Hit ne mæᵹ na swa beon. 1340Ayenb. 1 Ich bidde þe hit by my sseld..al to mi lyues ende, zuo by hit. c1375Cursor M. 1148 (Fairf.), For if I walde for-gif hit þe, hit nys noȝt worþi so to be. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 1015 Gif it swa be, we mon all obey till his lare. 1535Coverdale Judith xiii. 15 That thou mayest se that it so is, beholde, this is y⊇ heade of Holofernes. 1536Primer Salisb. Use 48 As it..euer shalbe. So be it. 1599Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 8 And his men be good fellowes, so it is. 1682Bunyan Holy War Wks. 1768 II. 7 No reason being annexed, but so I will have it, so it shall be. 1812Crabbe Tales xviii, If he On aught determined, so it was to be. 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. ix, How the conversation took that particular turn, I do not presume to know—so it was.
b. With auxiliary verbs in elliptic use (requiring the addition of (to) be, (to) have it, etc.).
Beowulf 2091 He mec þær on innan..ᵹedon wolde..: hyt ne mihte swa. c1205Lay. 131 Mid wintre he wes bi⁓weaued; Swo hit wolde godd. c1440Alph. Tales 83 And Saynt Petur wolde nevur so, it myght nevur com samen agayn. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xvii. 392 Ye saye well,..and I am soo contente. 1594Greene & Lodge Looking Gl. G.'s Wks. (Rtldg.) 130 You are a welcome guest, if so you please. 1701J. Norris Ideal World i. ii. 95 We need but.., instead of I affirm so if so, say If so I affirm so. 1731Pope Let. to Hill 15 Feb., I am very desirous to leave out that note if you like so.
c. Followed by a clause introduced by that.
a1300Cursor M. 11725 Quer it es sua, yee wat it noght, Þat handes mine þis tre has wroght. c1400Beryn 3569 Sith þat it so is, That of the first pleyntyff wee have sikirnes. a1450Le Morte Arth. 2517 The knyghtis..said..that so them thought That syr mordred the sekereste was. 1538Starkey England i. i. 10 Though hyt be so that man abusyth the..cumpany of man. 1663S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. (1687) 474 Yet so it was, that one day he seriously told his Friend. 1711Steele Spect. No. 144 ⁋1 Yet so it is, that People can bear any Quality in the World better than Beauty. 1763J. Brown Poetry & Music v. 61 How came it so to pass, that the first Race of Men were..of a stronger Turn to Poetry?
d. In clauses of supposition (sometimes with omission of that). by so (that): see by prep. 23 d.
13..in Horstman Hampole's Wks. (1896) I. 169 If so be þat þo haf les schame with þi foule herte þen with þi foule body. 1390Gower Conf. I. 48 That can I do wel, Be so my lif therto wol laste. c1482in Cal. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. II. (1830) Pref. 64 If it hadde be soo that the forsaide John Ferrers hadde not made feithfull promyse. 1495–1611 [see if conj. 8 f]. 1638R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. (1818) 193 Thus love I thee, so be thou loue me. 1665–1861 [see if conj. 8 f].
4. a. Representing a word or phrase already employed: Of that nature or description; of or in that condition, etc.
c1000ælfric Saints' Lives II. xxix. 52 Paulus..ᵹemette ænne blindne mann, se wæ s ᵹeboren swa. c1440Alph. Tales 85 A preste þat trowid he was a passand gude synger, not-with-stondyng he was not so. 1563Homilies ii. Fasting i. (1859) 284 Which works..are called good works, and are so indeed. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 128 Some come, some go, This life is so. a1640Massinger Old Law iv. ii, He's merry As if he had no such charge: one with that care Could never be so. 1664H. More Myst. Iniq. ii. ii. i. 338 If the Devil be a Beast, that which makes him so is the wickedness of his nature. 1737Pope Hor. Epist. i. vi. 2 To make men happy, and to keep them so. 1842Borrow Bible in Spain vii, He was half intoxicated, and soon became three parts so. 1885Law Reports 15 Q.B.D. 316 The catch..was worn away, and probably had been so for months.
b. With verbs of thinking, considering, etc.: To be such, as such.
a1300Cursor M. 27573 Man es..prode for halines, And lates oft lightly o þaa Men þat er noght funden sua. 1609Bible (Douay) 1 Macc. x. comm., It was not in the kings powre to make Jonathas highpriest, but..the king..did so account him. 1644Vicars God in Mount 195 They taking us to be their friends, and wee them so too. 1710Steele Tatler No. 126 ⁋1 Her Attractions would indeed be irresistible, but that she thinks them so. 1784J. Potter Virtuous Villagers II. 179 Though I am afraid it is not always considered so. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre ii, ‘Silence! This violence is all most repulsive;’ and so, no doubt, she felt it. 1896Law Times C. 358/1 R. became a lunatic, and was so found by inquisition.
c. As object after have.
1658Whole Duty Man iii. 52 The first is the having a mean and low opinion of our selves, the second is the being content that others should have so of us. 1662Stillingfleet Orig. Sacræ ii. iii. §4 Whether the person..hath divine authority for what he saith. What ground can I have to believe that he hath so?
d. With call, name, etc.: By that name or designation. (Cf. 6.)
1608Shakes. Per. iii. iii. 13 My..babe Marina, Whom, for she was borne at sea, I haue named so. 1617Collins Def. Bp. Ely To Rdr. p. ix, Hee maruells that the Papists should be so called [sc. novitii]. 1659Pearson Creed (1839) 446 The..Scriptures..term him plainly and expressly so. 1728Swift Gulliver i. viii, My son Johnny, named so after his uncle. 1803Wordsw. Blind Highland Boy 11 A Highland Boy!—why call him so? 1859Hadley Ess. x. (1873) 194 This mode of ‘futurizing’ (if we may so call it).
5. In various elliptic uses:
†a. = Yes. Obs.—1
a1425Cursor M. 13560 (Trin.), Somme seide nay & somme so.
b. After adverbs and conjunctions, as how so? not so, if so, etc.
a1300[see how adv. 17]. 1526Tindale Luke i. 60 Not soo, but he shalbe called Jhon. 1579Fulke Heskins' Parl. 155 This hath nothing lesse then that. Why so? 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 312 If Foxes bene so crafty, as so. a1593Marlowe Edw. II, v. ii, That Edmund laid a plot To set his brother free, no more but so. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, Dor. I am glad he pitcht upon Loveit. Bell. How so? 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxviii, He will not die unless we abandon him; and if so, we are indeed answerable for his blood. 1842Tennyson Lady Clare xi, ‘Nay now,..keep the secret all ye can.’ She said, ‘Not so’. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxxxv. 1 Half I hate, half love. How so? one haply requireth. 1896G. Boothby Dr. Nikola i, ‘I know China as well as any living Englishman.’ ‘Quite so.’
c. As an introductory particle. Also so, so.
This and the two following uses are common in Shakespeare's plays.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 330 So so, quoth he; these lets attend the time. 1602How to choose Gd. Wife in Hazl. Dodsley IX. 55 So, let me see: my apron. 16051st Pt. Jeronimo i. i. 77 So, so, Andrea must be sent imbassador? 1741Richardson Pamela III. 251 And I say..So, my good Friends!—I am glad to see you. 1775Sheridan Rivals ii. ii, So, so, ma'am! I humbly beg pardon.
d. As an expression of approval, or a direction to do something in a particular manner. Also in phr. so best.
(a)1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. i. 109 Giue me thy hand (Celestiall) so. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 38 Steare steady & keep your course, so, you go wel. 1649Lovelace Poems (1864) 112 Where now one so so spatters, t'other: no! 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 18 So, thus, keep her thus. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxiii, Walk through the apartment... So; feel you not now that you are possessed of the full use of your limbs? 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. ii. i, Here, let me just turn that curl—there, so. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 637 So!, an order to desist temporarily from hauling upon a rope, when it has come to its right position.
(b)1851Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. ii. Wks. (1904) 372 Shaking Austria's yoke He shattered his own hand and heart. ‘So best’. 1860Trans. Philol. Soc. LXI. 164 It is to be an omnium-gatherum, and if this be practicable, so best.
†e. = Let it be so; it is well. Obs.
1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 137 If it please you, so: if not: why so. 1611― Cymb. ii. iii. 16 If you can penetrate her with your fingering, so.
f. With ellipse of ‘says’ or ‘writes’.
1613F. T. Suppl. Discussion of Barlowe's Answer 220 So he; doubting as you see, of the truth of his witnesses. 1685Stillingfl. Orig. Brit. i. 9 So Bale; but Pits places him ten years later.
g. Ellipt. for is that so? expressing (a) recognition or realization of a fact or (b) questioning or dismissal of a statement (cf. so what, sense 10 c below).
1803G. Colman John Bull i. 7 Peregrine. Is your house far from the sea-shore? Mrs. Brulgruddery. About three miles, Sir. Peregrine. So! I have been wandering about since day-break. 1886Liverpool Even. Express 9 Jan. 3/4 ‘Oh, Mr. Blobbs, you can form no idea of the terrible dream I had last night.’.. ‘So?’ remarked Mr. Blobbs, continuing the perusal of the morning paper. 1903Farmer & Henley Slang VI. 289/1 ‘The King returns to town to-day’ ‘So?’ 1973H. Nielsen Severed Key i. 6 ‘Small craft warnings are out.’ ‘So?’ Simon queried. 1977W. Tute Cairo Sleeper vii. 122 ‘You will see whoever Major Masri decides you should see,’ the officer said curtly... ‘So!’ she said to herself. 1978A. Morice Murder by Proxy i. 13 ‘He's an estate agent.’.. ‘So?’ ‘So nothing.’
h. Used to add emphasis to a statement contradicting a negative assertion made by the previous speaker. dial. or colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
1913Dialect Notes IV. 55 So, adj., used sometimes as ‘too’ and ‘just the same’ are used to intensify an assertion in reply to an expression of scepticism. ‘You don't know anything about it!’ ‘I do so!’ 1931Amer. Speech VII. 20 So, emphatic in absolute use. ‘I was—so!’ 1937L. B. Murphy Social Behavior & Child Personality ii. 62 Eunice, ‘I don't.’ Anne, ‘You do so.’ 1951N. M. Gunn Well at World's End xiv. 101 ‘You don't like butter!’ she cried. ‘I do so like butter!’ ‘You don't! You don't!’.. ‘I do so!’ he yelled. 1953K. Tennant Joyful Condemned xii. 103 ‘How old are you?’ ‘Eighteen.’ ‘Eighteen, my fat aunt.’.. ‘I am so eighteen.’ 1979G. Swarthout Skeletons 28 ‘I've published nineteen!’ ‘You haven't.’ ‘I have so.’
6. In combinations:
a. With past (or present) pples., as so-caused, so-formed, so-named, so-titled, etc., so-seeming.
See also so-called, -styled, -termed.
c1430Hoccleve Minor Poems 124 If so-causid seeknesse on me fil As dide on the. 1467–8Rolls of Parlt. V. 629/2 The which soo named brode sette Clothes. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. ii. 41, I will..plucke the borrowed vaile of modestie from the so-seeming Mist[ress] Page. 1602W. Watson Decacord. 181 The so authorized deprives the authorizer of his superioritie over him. 1621G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vii. (1626) 135 Whom now the so-instructed sisters led Into his chamber. 1815Ann. Reg., Hist. 63 Forbidding all his subjects to pay taxes..to the so-titled imperial government. 1830Herschel Study Nat. Phil. iii. iv. 304 The multiplication of so-considered elementary bodies. 1883Nature XXVII. 326 The so-formed super-phosphate.
b. With vbl. ns., as so-doing, so-saying.
1509in Mem. Hen. VII (Rolls) 444 Farnando Duke and the do[ctor] de Puebla had byn dysstroyed for theyre so doyngys. 1803tr. P. Le Brun's Mons. Botte I. 110 What! asleep yet, sluggard!.. And with so saying, pinched his ear. a1834Coleridge Confess. Enq. Spirit iii. (1840) 37 Because the so thinking supersedes the necessity of all after-thought.
c. Sc. With advs., as so-like, so-wise. Cf. so-gates.
1533Gau Richt Vay 104 To cal thayme selff..successours of the apostlis, o say lik? say lik? 1556Lauder Tractate 428 Salyke sic Pryde pertenis to trew teaching. 1819Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 158 Sae-wyse the Papists..Did scatter aff.
7. As adj.
a. (See quot. 1867.) so-fashion adv., in this or that manner. U.S. dial.
1867J. F. Dimock Giraldus Cambrensis' Opera V. 431 Perhaps it was something like the modern Scotch plaid, wrapped round the body; the so use of which is certainly very ancient. 1890Dialect Notes I. 23 So fashion, meaning so, in that way. Is this known all over New England? 1903G. S. Wasson Cap'n Simeon's Store v. 86 It don't look right for nobody..to take and hang on to them tormented ole witch-bridles so-fashion! 1913R. Frost in Poetry & Drama Dec. 415 I'll knock so-fashion and peep round the door When I come back, so you'll know who it is.
†b. slang. Homosexual. Obs.
1937in Partridge Dict. Slang. 1963C. Mackenzie Life & Times II. 254 ‘I've come to the conclusion,’ he told me, ‘that I'm not really ‘so’ at all. I much prefer girls.’ At this date [sc. 1899] the cant word among homosexuals for their proclivities was ‘so’. That seems to have vanished completely from current cant. 1968J. R. Ackerley My Father & Myself xvi. 192 A young ‘so’ man, picked up by Arthur in a Hyde Park urinal. 1973Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 23 Feb. 51/4 Wilde used to call him ‘the architect of the moon’. Rothenstein, Beerbohm,..and Epstein were his more predictable friends, as he was not..at all ‘gay’, as it is now called, or, as it was then called, ‘so’.
II. Placed at the beginning of a clause with continuative force, and freq. preceded by and.
8. Used to confirm or strengthen a previous statement.
(a)1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1135, Men..sæden ðæt micel þing sculde cumen herefter; sua dide. c1330Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 9817 Þe clerk Merlin..dede hem liȝt,..So þai dede & blisse made. c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 1284 ‘Lo, yond he rit!’ Quod she, ‘ye, so he dooth’. 1526Skelton Magnyf. 798 Abyde, syr, quod he! mary, so I do. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 58 Ab. You should for that haue reprehended him. Adr. Why so I did. 1611Bible Ezra iv. 24. 1653 Walton Angler ii, Now have at him with Killbuck, for he vents again. Venator. Marry! so he does. 1757Foote Author i. Wks. 1799 I. 142 You had better hold your chattering, so you had. 1898Watts-Dunton Aylwin iv. iii, My father's birthday? Why, so it is!
(b)c1440Alph. Tales 256 He bad þis whik man lay þe dead man ouerthwarte befor hym..; and so he did. 1510Sel. Cas. Star Chamber (Selden) II. 72 Intendyng..to have drowned the same Shipp, and so hadd doon hadd nott the mariners..made great..defence. 1602in Morris Troubles Cath. Foref. (1872) i. iv. 192 My abode at this present is, and so hath been for some years, altogether in London. 1864Browning J. Lee's Wife iv. i, You wanted my love—is that much true? And so I did, love, so I do.
9. Denoting similarity or parallelism in some respect between two facts, actions, etc.
(a)c888ælfred Boeth. xxv, Swa doð eac wudufuᵹlas. a1200Moral Ode 146 Ful wombe mei lihtliche speken of hunger..swa mei of pine þe ne cnauð hu þe scal a ilesten. a1250Prov. ælfred 308 Mony appel is bryht wiþ-vte, and bitter wiþ-inne; So is mony wymmon [etc.]. c1350Childh. Jesus 91 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 102/2 ‘Certes, me thrystyt wonder sore.’ ‘Certes,’ seyt Josep, ‘so do I’. c1430Lydg. Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 24 The sonne chaungith, so doth the pale mone. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 213 So again was Cyrus by Tomiris, who slue him and all his host. 1671Milton Samson Pref., For so in Physic, things of melancholic hue and quality are us'd against melancholy. 1721Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 7 Sae, th' heedless heir..Lets ilka sneaking fellow take a pluck. 1842Browning Pied Piper ix, The Mayor looked blue; So did the Corporation too. 1890Law Times LXXXIX. 165/1 If the lienors may insure, so may the owners of the injured ship and cargo.
(b)a890Charter in O.E. Texts 452 In þissum life ond⁓wardum, & eac swa in þæm towardan life. a1225Ancr. R. 130 Auh Dauid wende þider..& so deð þe gode ancre. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 11395 He sclow oure kyng Archilogus,..And so he did kyng Archomene. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. vi. 348 Thenne was sir Bryan ful gladde and soo was his lady & alle his knyghtes. a1586Sidney Ps. v. ii, Thou..in endles hatred hast The murd'rous man, and soe the fraudulent. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xv. 142 Leeches will move both waies; and so will most of those animals, whose bodies consist of round and annulary fibers. 1786Burns Ded. to G. Hamilton 7 When I'm tir'd—and sae are ye, Wi' monie a fulsome, sinfu' lie. 1842Tennyson Dora 26 But in my time a father's word was law, And so it shall be now for me. 1884Longman's Mag. Mar. 492 All other branches of athletic sport..have their ruling bodies, and so has cycling.
10. a. For that reason, on that account, accordingly, consequently, therefore.
The causative force is sometimes very slight, the use approximating to that in b.
(a)c1250Old Kentish Serm. in O.E. Misc. 32 Hise deciples hedde gret drede of þise tempeste, so hi a-wakede hine. c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 1233 Fayn he wolde dye, So on a day he leyde him doun to slepe. c1420Lydg. Assembly of Gods 434 So forthe yn he went & spake wordys fell. 1563Homilies ii. Sacrament i. (1859) 440 So then, as of necessity we must be our selves partakers of this Table [etc.]. 1616J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. vi. 334 What all pleasures dothe containe is greater, so is pleasures soveraigne. 1713Swift Cadenus & Vanessa Wks. 1755 III. ii. 31 The cry'r was order'd to dismiss The court, so made his last O yes! 1821Scott Pirate i, A shelter..is all I seek for. So name your rent. 1896G. Boothby Dr. Nikola v, We leave at daybreak for Pekin, so I will wish you good⁓bye now.
(b)a1200Vices & Virtues 35 Karitas is heiȝest and betst of ðese þrie, and swo hie is ouer alle oðre. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2091 Maximian was suþþe aslawe,.. & so þei ssrewe robeours abbe hor wille an stounde. a1390Wycliffite Bible (1850) II. 738 And so alle the salmys of Dauid ben maad in noumbre of an hundrid and fifti. c1440Alph. Tales 164 He had not money enogh to pay for þaim; & so he frustid hym. 1549in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 282 Quere yf this be not againste the profitt of the common people, and so voide. 16043rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 11/1 All these Bills had the royal assent, and so were enacted. c1680Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 566 He must love God with all his heart and soul, and so above all things in the world. 1818Byron Juan i. v, But then they shone not on the poet's page, And so have been forgotten. 1888Law Times LXXXV. 133/1 A mortgagor's tenant is emphatically a person interested in the equity of redemption, and so entitled to redeem.
b. (a) As an introductory particle, without a preceding statement (but freq. implying one).
1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 21 Sept., So you have got into Presto's lodgings; very fine, truly! 1777Sheridan Sch. Scandal ii. iii, Well—so one of my nephews is a wild rogue, hey? 1809Byron in R. C. Dallas Corr. of B. (1825) I. 95 So Lord G* is married to a rustic! Well done! 1881Jowett Thucyd. I. 42 And so we have met at last, but with what difficulty!
(b) [Reflecting Yiddish idioms.] Without implication of a preceding statement, or with concessive force: = well then, in that case, very well; also (introducing interrogative clauses) with adversative force: = but then, anyway.
1950B. Malamud in Partisan Rev. XVII. 666 Miriam returned after 11.30... ‘So where did you go?’ Feld asked pleasantly. 1952M. Pei Story of English 182 The adverb so at the beginning of a sentence (‘So I'll pay for it!’), probably of Yiddish origin, occurs frequently in conversation. 1960‘E. McBain’ Give Boys Great Big Hand i. 4 ‘I warn you..I ain't got no wine.’ ‘So who wants wine?’ 1977F. Branston Up & Coming Man v. 49 ‘How much profit..?’ ‘Impossible to do more than make a wild guess.’ ‘So make a wild guess.’
c. so what?: a retort made to an assertion, implying that the problem expressed has no immediate interest or obvious solution. Also as attrib. phr. orig. U.S.
1934M. H. Weseen Dict. Amer. Slang 399 So what?—What of it? What does it matter?.. What does that have to do with the matter? Your remark has no bearing or significance. 1935F. Baldwin Innocent Bystander v. 83 ‘He has a wife,’ said the girl gloomily. ‘So what?’ asked Angela carelessly. 1938C. Landery (title) So what? a young man's odyssey. 1949Hansard Commons 21 Nov. 104 That is unfortunate and disappointing but, to use an American expression, ‘So what?’ 1953in Shorter Oxf. Eng. Dict. (1955). Add., The tragedy of the ‘So what?’ generation. 1960M. A. Sindall Matey xiii. 177 She suddenly yawned and flung the magazine on to the seat. ‘So what!’ she murmured. 1968C. Watson Charity ends at Home x. 126 No, the fact is that Henny and I got along as well as most. Not around each other's necks all the time, but so what? 1970T. Hilton Pre-Raphaelites viii. 201 Burne-Jones pushed art so far away from this world that our reactions to some of his paintings are of a merely so-what kind.
11. Denoting sequence, freq. without implication of manner, and hence passing into: Then, thereupon, thereafter, subsequently.
(a)c1300Havelok 2858 Thanne he hauede sikernesse Taken.., so dide he calle Þe erl of Cestre. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. viii. 232 So [earlier texts þenne] shalt þow come to a court. c1450Holland Howlat 794 Sa come the Ruke. c1614Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 72 Achates only he his convoy makes, Swa journey taks where fortune guides the way. 1697J. Lewis Mem. Dk. Glocester (1789) 29 The Princess thought it high time to have him taught to walk regularly, so by degrees to dance.
(b)1470–85Malory Arthur ii. v. 82 Balyn hyt hym thorugh the sheld, and the hauberk perysshed, & so percyd thurgh his body. 1517R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 2 The thursday I went to Seynt Denys.., and so retornyd a gayne the same nyght to Parys. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. vi. 4 b, The Ambassadour shewed hym his commission, and so tooke his leaue of him. 1620E. Blount Horæ Subs. 349 But for a tast and so away. 1715Maryland Laws vi. (1723) 20 Stakes..with Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so to an Hundred. 1821Scott Pirate ii, Thence by a whaling vessel to Lerwick, and so to Jarlshof. 1892A. J. Butler tr. Memoirs Marbot I. iii. 17 Then we marched out as we had come in, to the drum, and so to bed.
†12. Following on conditional clauses: Then.
a1536Tindale Doct. Treat. (Parker Soc.) 433 If thou believe not.., so is it impossible that [etc.]. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 18 Will thow thy sinfull lyfe confes,..Sa ar ȝe worthie, small and greit.
III. To that extent; in that degree.
For ever so, never so, in emphatic use, see ever adv. 9 b, c, and never adv. 4.
13. a. With adjs. or advs. (or equivalent phrases), in negative and interrogative clauses. not so preceding an adj., in the sense ‘not very, none too―’: see not adv. and n. C 2 d.
(a)c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §3 Ne ᵹelyfe ic no þæt hit ᵹeweorþan meahte swa endebyrdlice. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. viii. 10 Swa micel ᵹeleafa ne ᵹemotte ic in Israhele. c1205Lay. 600 Nes castel nan swa strong. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7551 Þer nas prince in al þe world of so noble fame. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 54 In suilk apparaille dight, þat so riche armes was neuer sene with sight. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 15509 In al this world is non silke, So noble werk, ne so riche. 1501Plumpton Corr. 157, I was never so werie & soferd of my life, since I was borne. 1578Lyte Dodoens 22 The great Bistorte hath long leaves like Patience, but smaller, and not so smothe or playne. 1646Fuller Wounded Consc. (1841) 335 A meaner man, of whose spirituality the patient hath not so high..conceits. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. i. 46 They neither wrestle, sing, or paint so well. 1797Godwin Enquirer i. vi. 38 Men were no longer shut up in so narrow boundaries. 1803–5Wordsw. Solitary Reaper 13 A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 89 The Cavaliers..were by no means disposed to revive an institution so odious.
(b)c900tr. Baeda's Hist. v. ix. (1890) 410 Forhwon seᵹdes ðu æcgbrihte swa ᵹemeleaslice & swa wlæclice þa ðing..? c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 340 And if a man wol aske hem prively Why they been clothed so unthriftily [etc.]. 14..26 Pol. Poems xxvi. 24, I..asked who had..brought her in so drowpyng chere. 1445in Anglia XXVIII. 281 Is his worship of so litel peys? 1598Marston Sco. Villanie iii. ix, Why lookes neat Curusall so simpringly? 1611Bible John xiv. 9 Haue I bin so long time with you? 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. v. §9 The reason why I take so particular notice of this. 1735Berkeley Querist §215 Whence is it that Barbs and Arabs are so good horses? 1780Mirror No. 95, She..asked me, with her usual good-humour, what made me look so grave? 1850Newman Difficulties Anglicans i. v, What am I to say in answer to conduct so preposterous?
b. Followed by a relative clause or equivalent complement. (Cf. 24.)
Rarely when the antecedent clause is affirmative.
1581in Allen Martyrdom Campion (1908) 17 Is it possible to find xii so wicked..men in this citye..that will finde us guiltie togeather of this one crime? 1593Shakes. Lucr. 853 No perfection is so absolute, That some impurity doth not pollute. 1601― Jul. C. i. ii. 316 Who so firme, that cannot be seduc'd? 1610― Temp. v. 269 A Witch..so strong That could controle the Moone. 1611Bible Job xli. 10 None is so fierce that dare stirre him vp. 1753L. M. tr. Du Boscq's Accompl. Woman 26 There is no design so black, which Ambition scruples to conceive. 1780Mirror No. 92, There is nothing so absurd or extravagant, which riches..will not tempt him to commit. 1821Scott Kenilw. viii, He..came not thither so private but what he was espied by one who told me.
14. a. In affirmative clauses, tending to become a mere intensive without comparative force, and sometimes emphasized in speaking and writing.
(a) Beowulf 347 Ᵹif he us ᵹeunnan wile, Þæt we hine swa godne gretan moton. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §3 Nu ðu þæt swa openlice onᵹiten hæfst, ne ðearfe ic nu..ymb ðæt swincan. a1225Leg. Kath. 171 Þe wrecches þet ha seh swa wraðe werkes wurchen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 590 Þat king lotrin..dude al his wille, vor he lokede so rowe. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4073 Þe empire, þat was swa myghty, Es now destruyed a grete party. 1390Gower Conf. III. 1 This vice, which so out of rule Hath sette ous alle, is cleped Gule. 141226 Pol. Poems xi. 50 God dede þe make, Put soule of resoun in flesche so frele. 1503Hawes Examp. Virt. xii. 238 Amonge the floures so swete of ayre. 1626W. Sclater Exp. 2 Thess. (1629) 297 The bones of so dogged Contentions. 1678Dryden All for Love iii. i, I fear'd he loved her:..For 'twere impossible that two, so one, Should not have lov'd the same. 1741Richardson Pamela III. 168 My Face..was hid in my Bosom, and I looked so silly! 1820Keats Lamia i. 183 To see herself escap'd from so sore ills. 1839–52Bailey Festus 208 The Norman! so noble, and stately and tall. 1882Floyer Unexpl. Baluchistan 302 The absence of ruined buildings, which so invariably form the major part of a Persian town.
(b)1837Dickens Pickw. iv, My dear brother is so good. 1853Mrs. Gaskell Cranford i, A man is so in the way in the house. 1875E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 369, I am so glad (as the Gushingtons say) that you like the Carlyle.
b. Preceded by a, the, this, etc., or possessive pronouns. Now rare except in combs.
c1205Lay. 3812 Þu eært a swa hende gome. 13..in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1875) 75 Of a so ȝong þing. 1340Ayenb. 100 To by zone to ane zuo greate emperur. 1535Joye Apol. Tindale 19 Nothinge performing his so large promyses. 1545Brinklow Compl. 18 Ye may set to reforme thes so wicked lawes. 1629Gaule Holy Madnesse 329 You may see your face in his so transparant cheeks. 1667Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 81 The reason of our so long silence. a1700Evelyn Diary June 1645, Divers statues.., amongst which is the so celebrated Eve. 1865Ruskin Sesame ii. §57 The one weakness of his so mighty love. 1887Hall Caine Deemster xxxix, The so heavy burden thou bearest.
c. With adj. and singular n., in cases similar to next, but without a. Now rare.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1490 Vor he was so god kniȝt & al so so noble king, He bed vor to ȝiue him is doȝter in spousing. c1400Mandeville (1839) vi. 66 Thei seyn, that thei scholde not entre in to so holy Place. c1425Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1417 Syth they so long tyme haue made me so madde. 1557North Gueuara's Diall Pr. 110 In the time of so great and excellent philosopher. 1814Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) III. ix. 292 So short time have I been absent. 1867Ruskin Time & Tide ix. §40 In so apparently desultory manner.
d. With adj. followed by a. † Sometimes preceded by this.
(a)13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1538 Gret is þe gode gle,..Þat.. ȝe wolde..pyne yow with so pouer a mon. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 1855 Hector, þat was so noble a knyȝt. 1548Hall Chron., Rich. III, 56 b, Yf we dye so glorious a death in so good a quarell. 1624Quarles Sion's Sonn. viii. 4 To kisse the lips of so, so faire a Bride. 1780Mirror No. 95, I thought I had never beheld so interesting an object. a1845Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Brothers Birchington lxvi, So barefaced a blunder. 1902Gairdner Hist. Eng. Ch. 16th Cent. viii. (1903) 140 So insulting a message was clearly out of the question.
(b)1611Bible 1 Kings iii. 9 Who is able to iudge this thy so great a people? 1632Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 169 Of such as were privy to this so important a secret. a1700Evelyn Diary 22 Apr. 1694, How this so young a gentle⁓man..could live in such an expensive manner. 1736Butler Anal. ii. vii, This so remarkable an Establishment.
†e. With a or an inserted before the adj. (cf. such a.). Also so very a. Obs.
1569J. Sandford tr. Agrippa's Van. Artes 66 b, The feeble definition of so an approved philosopher. 1614Selden Titles Honor 148 Vpon so an apparant diminution of the peoples libertie. 1657Fuller Notes Jonah i. 5 So an unnatural sin was atheism. 1664Pepys Diary 10 Jan., We are all glad, so very a known rogue he was.
† f. With a inserted between the two parts of a combination. Obs.
1595Shakes. John iv. ii. 27 Putting on so new a fashion'd robe. 1631Massinger Believe as You list ii. i, Was there ever So sweete a temperd Roman? 1682A. Mudie Pres. St. Scotl. Ep. Ded. A iiij b, The constitutions of so well a Governed Kingdom. 1756W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans III. 173 So jealous a pated fellow.
g. With an adj. of size or quantity, with the implication of an accompanying gesture: = as—as this. Esp. in phr. when I (he, etc.) was so high, when I (etc.) was a small child. Hence so-high adj. Cf. that dem. adv. b, quot. 1870.
1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. IV. vii. liii. 89 ‘You would have me love what I have from the time I was so high’—here she held her left hand a yard from the floor. 1899Kipling Stalky 226 ‘Do 'ee lov' me, Mary?’ ‘Iss—fai! Talled 'ee zo since yeou was zo high!’ 1916A. Huxley Let. c 12 July (1969) 105 Vassall..seems..to have known me when I was ‘so high’. 1963‘B. Graeme’ Almost without Murder xiv. 157 As a so-high kid I had ‘liked’ ice cream.
15. With verbs. Now usually intensive.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xlviii. (Juliana) 245 For þe desert þat þu can ma to god, þat þe a-wansit sa. a1425Cursor M. 5290 (Trin.), He haþ delyuered me of my woo, And put me to welþe, no mon so. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Aug. 15 What payne doth thee so appall? 1615G. Sandys Trav. 1 Celebrated for quarries of excellent marble, which do so adorne the Venetian palaces. 1626T. H[awkins] Caussin's Holy Crt. 436, I cannot so harden my hart, but that it may be softned. 1833H. Martineau Manch. Strike i. 2 O father, my knees have been aching so all day. 1849[Eastwick] Dry Leaves 22 The waves, which..did in this place so confound and toss about the triremes of Alexander. 1884C. Gibbon Fancy Free xiv, I held back because I loved you so.
†16. Equally; to the same extent. Obs.—1
1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 228 The Tree or Shrub that bears it is like the Prickle-Pear-Tree, about 5 foot high, and so prickly.
IV. Introducing one or both of two clauses expressing comparison or correspondence.
†17.
a. In the way that; as much as; as. Obs.
soon so, as soon as: see soon adv.
Beowulf 490 Site nu to symle,..swa þin sefa hwette. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §12 He..swincð þonne ymb þæt swa he swiðost mæᵹ. 971Blickl. Hom. 19 Cleopian we nu in eᵹlum mode.., swa se blinda dyde. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1016, Se here..sloᵹon & bærndon..swa heora ᵹewuna wæs. a1275Prov. ælfred 608 Sone min so dere, do so ich þe lere. 13..K. Alis. 6260 (W.), A folk..Al blak so cole-brond. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5383 Gweynes fleȝ forþ so wynd and rayn.
†b. After numerals: As. Obs.
In OE. also in other forms of expression.
a1000in Thorpe Laws I. 190 Syx swa micel. c1330–c 1420 [see ten C]. 1587L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheepe (1627) 203 Others with twise so great a stocke.
†c. As if. Obs.
a900Cynewulf Crist 850 Nu is þon ᵹelicost, swa we on laguflode..ceolum liðan. 971Blickl. Hom. 205 And þa fotlastas wæron swutole..on þæm stane, swa hie on wexe wæron aðyde. c1250Owl & Night. 142 Heo song so lude.., Ryht so me grulde schille harpe. c1275Passion Our Lord 542 in O.E. Misc. 52 Hi vellen so hi were ded. c1300Havelok 594 Also lith was it þer-inne, So þer brenden cerges inne.
†d. After relative pronouns or advs.: So ever.
In OE., and very early ME., the pronoun or adverb was preceded as well as followed by swa.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 145 Hwa se wile cume efter me. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. iii. 2595 In what state swa he be þan. c1350Will. Palerne 2565 What man so vs metes, may vs sone knowe. c1400Cursor M. 28788 (Cott. Galba), Whether so askes more rightwisly, Sall be herd of god. c1425Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1406 Dredde shalt thow be, wher so thow become. c1440Alph. Tales 34 Promysyng hym to do what þing so he commanddid hym. 1559Mirr. Mag. (1563) B iv, Whom so they take they slay. a1593Marlowe Edw. II, i. i, Commaund What so thy mind affectes.
†18. so..so.
a. = So..as (see 20). Obs.
In OE. also swa swa without intervening words, and sometimes swa..swa swa.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §4 Swa hit is swa þu sæᵹst. 971Blickl. Hom. 137 Hit wæs þa swa leoht swa se merᵹen⁓lica steorra. a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 193 Heo beoð so read so rose, so hwit so þe lilie. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5369 Þat londfolc to him com so þikke so it miȝte go. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 6827 Þe arewes come so þykke so reyn. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 188 Ich see noone so ofte sorfeten, Soþliche so mankynde.
†b. = As..so (see 22). Obs.
In OE. also swa swa..swa.
c825Vesp. Psalter cii. 13 Swe mildsað feder bearnum, swe mildsiende bið dryhten ondredendum hine. 971Blickl. Hom. 9 Swa se hyhtenda ᵹigant, swa Drihten on middanᵹearde bliðe wunode. a1175Lamb. Hom. 39 Swa se þu forȝeuest..swa þin drihten forȝeueð þe þine misdede. 13..K. Alis. (Laud MS.) 2210 So on þe shyngel liþe þe haile, Euery kniȝth so lijþ on oþer. [1667Milton P.L. vii. 288 So high as heav'd the tumid Hills, so low Down sunk a hollow bottom.]
†c. With comparatives: The..the. Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §4 Swa him mon mare selð, swa hine ma lyst. 971Blickl. Hom. 15 Swa hie him swyþor styrdon, swa he hludor cleopode. a1225Ancr. R. 182 So þe sicnesse is more, se þe goldsmið is bisegure. a1240Lofsong in O.E. Hom. I. 215 Þet hit ontende me..in þine luue, so lengre so more. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxix. v. 47 Hym þhouȝte euere so leng so wors.
19. In adjurations or asseverations.
So has here the sense of ‘in that way’ or ‘to that extent’, the complementary clause being omitted. The two usual types are here illustrated separately. For so help see also s'elp, s'help, and swelp.
(a) Beowulf 435 Ic þæt þonne forhicᵹe, swa me Hiᵹelac sie..modes bliðe, þæt [etc.]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 33 Swa me helpe drihten. c1205Lay. 3041 Iheren ich wlle,..sua þe helpe Appolin, hu deore þe beo lif min. 1382Wyclif Exod. x. 10 So the Lord be with ȝow, what maner thanne Y shal leeue ȝow? c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 931 This schal ben doon.., So wisly God my soule bringe in blisse! [See also save v. 2 b.] c1440Lovelich Merlin 12034, I wolde, so god me spede, that pes purchaced were betwixen vs two. 1480in Gross Gild Merch. II. 71 Soo god yow help and holydome. 1508[see help v. 1 c]. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Ita, So god saue me. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 572 So helpe me great Mahomet it shall not so be. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xxviii, This seat..I claim as my right—so prosper me God and St. Barr! 1868[see help v. 1 c].
(b)a1300–c 1386 [see thee v.1 1 b]. c1400[see thrive v. B. 2]. c1400Gamelyn 515 And I wil kepe þe dore, so ever here I masse. c1420Liber Cocorum (1862) 6 Þis seȝe I preved, so have I blys. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 53 ‘Sa mot I thrife,’ said the King, ‘I speir for nane ill’. c1500H. Medwall Nature 753 (Brandl), The scald capper sware sythyche [= so thee ich] That yt cost hym euen as myche. a1553Udall Royster D. iii. v. (Arb.) 56 The selfe same that I wrote out of, so mote I go. 1598[see thee v.1 1 b].
20. a. so..as, so as, in such or the same way, manner, etc., as.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1055 Unweoten, þe weneð þet hit beo swa as hit on ehe bereð ham. a1300E.E. Psalter i. 3 Al his liue swa sal it be, Als it fares bi a tre. 1390Gower Conf. Prol. I. 5, I thenke forto touche also The world..So as I can, so as I mai. c1440Alph. Tales 85 Þis preste askid hur whi sho wepud so as sho did. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 119 Soo well clothed & arrayed, as I have tolde you above. 1535Coverdale Gen. xviii. 5 Do euen so as thou hast spoken. 1554Act 1 & 2 Phil. & Mary c. 8 §52 Hereditaments, so to be amortized as is aforesaid. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 1811 He with the Romans was esteemed so As silly-jeering idiots are with kings. 1611Bible Ps. lxiii. 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I haue seen thee in the Sanctuary. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace xxix. 496 They must so walk, as he walked. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 407/1 Lay the bend mould upon it, so as may best answer the round.
†b. In adjurations. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 493 Sche to the sergeant preyde, So as he was a worthy gentilman, That [etc.]. 1390Gower Conf. I. 310, I..beseche Unto the mihti Cupido,..So as he is of love a godd [etc.]. 1463in Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 197, I charged ham so as they will answere afore God.
†c. With as = as if. Obs.
1596Spenser F.Q. v. viii. 5 So ran they all, as they had bene at bace.
21. so..as, to the same extent, in the same degree, as:
a. In negative or interrogative clauses.
a1225Ancr. R. 150 Þenne nis hit to nout so god ase to þe fure of helle. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 167 Bote trustene to Trienals..Is not so syker for þe soule, sertes, as do-wel. c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 45 Who is so trewe and eek so ententyf To kepe him..as is his make? 1581Allen Apol. 121 Death and dungeons be not so terrible things..as they seeme. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 1 For a man by nothing is so well bewrayd As by his manners. 1646in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 343 Women were never soe usefull as now. 1670Dryden Conq. Granada i. ii. i, His victories we scarce could keep in view, Or polish them so fast as he rough-drew. 1763C. Johnston Reverie I. 260 This is not so strange or ingrateful as it may appear. 1779Mirror No. 58, Emilia, who now observed that her husband was nowhere so happy as in the country. 1842Tennyson Morte d' Arthur 156, I never saw..So great a miracle as yonder hilt. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 667 Never..had the condition of the Puritans been so deplorable as at that time.
b. In affirmative clauses: As..as. Now arch. or dial. (except in such phrases as so far as, so much as: see 35 b, etc.).
so long as: see long adv. 1 b. † so soon as: see soon adv.
1390Gower Conf. I. 154 So seker as I have a lif, Thou scholdest thanne be my wif. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. (1885) 128 A prince double so myghty as was thair old prince. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xix. 32 Barsillai was very olde, so good as foure score yeare olde. c1550R. Bieston Bayte Fortune A vj b, Smockes as snow so white. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 252 The one is become so old as the other. 1690Locke Hum. Und. i. ii. §14 This Way of arguing is so frivolous, as the Supposition of itself is false. c1790J. Imison Sch. Arts I. 303 This planet being but a fifth part so big as the earth. 1818Scott Rob Roy xiv, Although I readily gave my uncle the advantage of my pen..so often as he desired to correspond with a neighbour. 1876Pearse Daniel Quorm 155 'Tis a'most so good for ourselves as 'tis for those we try to save.
c. Preceding the citation of a special example or instance.
1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 123 So small a kingdome as that is of Portingale. 1664Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 167 Seeing upon so extraordinary occasions as these, the boldest eloquence would lose its speech. 1779Mirror No. 63, It was impossible that a girl so amiable as Emily Hargrave could fail to attract attention. 1820Keats Hyperion ii. 321 Have I rous'd Your spleens with so few simple words as these? 1861Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 37 The interest excited in England by events passing in so distant a quarter as Moravia. 1878T. Hardy Ret. Native vi. iii. (1890) 399, I am not fit for town life—so very rural and silly as I always have been.
d. With as taking the place of an object to the following verb.
1555J. Proctor Hist. Wyat's Rebellion 37 It is so straunge a case as the world neuer saw. 1629Drayton in Sir. J. Beaumont's Bosworth Field 14 So lasting Pillars to prop up thy Praise, As time shall hardly shake. 1676Dryden State of Innocence iv. i, Is our Perfection of so frail a Make, As ev'ry Plot can undermine or shake?
†e. With a comparative: So much. Obs.—1
1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 46 Their Arch may come..so lower as you think fit.
22. as..so:
a. Denoting more or less exact correspondence, similarity, or proportion.
Ormin has all swa summ..swa in this use.
a1300Cursor M. 17465 Als þai war for-boght sua þai did. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 32 Als he was ay God in trinite Swa be es, and ay God sal be. a1400–50Alexander 14 For as þaire wittis ere with-in, so þer will folowis. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxvii. 232 Such as the mayster was so was the seruuant. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. Prol. (1580) A v b, As it was, so it is, and so be it still hereafter. 1611Bible Prov. xxiii. 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. 1711Addison Spect. No. 47 ⁋7 In proportion as there are more Follies discovered, so there is more Laughter raised. 1821Keats Lamia i. 260 Even as thou vanishest so shall I die. 1830Tennyson Poet xiv, And as the lightning to the thunder..So was their meaning to her words. 1887Morris Odyssey xi. 586 For as often as stooped the elder when he longed for the water sweet So often it waned.
b. Denoting a simple parallelism between two different acts, concepts, etc., and sometimes approaching the sense of ‘not only..but (also)’.
c1340Hampole Prose Tr. 2 Als ded slaas all, Swa lufe ouer-comes all. 1563Homilies ii. Sacrament i. (1859) 439 As of old time God decreed.., so our loving Saviour hath ordained [etc.]. 1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 67 As it vald be verray lang, sa is it verray hard. 1619in W. Foster Eng. Factories India (1906) I. 79 As itt is an unsupportable wrong, soe itt inthralleth us to many other inconveniences. 1677Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 549 As he loved not to make work, so not to leave it imperfect. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. iv, As we rose with the sun, so we never pursued our labours after it was gone down. 1831Loudon Encycl. Agric. §6009 As the planters differ in the number of hills.., so are they no less capricious as to the manner of placing them. 1881Jowett Thucyd. I. 45 As in the arts, so also in politics, the new must always prevail over the old.
V.
23. so that (also so alone), denoting result or logical consequence; also sometimes = ‘in order that’.
In the revived use of so alone, orig. U.S.
(a) Beowulf 1508 Bær þa seo brimwylf..hringa þengel to hofe sinum, swa he ne mihte no..wæpna ᵹewealdan. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 64 Thanne seide I to my-self, so Pacience it herde. 1851H. Melville Moby Dick III. 564 Take your leg off from the crown of the anchor here, though, so I can pass the rope. 1902E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl xii. 143 One of the books in front of mine was six shillings. I bought it so mine would show. 1913[see sense 7 a above]. 1949W. Rogers Autobiogr. 44 The reason they leave some of our boys over there..is so they can get mail that was sent to them during the war. 1951C. P. Snow Masters i. 3 Shovelling coal up the back of the chimney, throwing it on so it would burn for hours. 1968Los Angeles Times 3 Mar. e6/3 The main reason Gender is back in the classroom is so he can converse in the many languages he knows. 1977A. Thwaite Portion for Foxes 28, I shall make it simple so you understand.
(b)c888K. ælfred Boeth. i, He ᵹehet Romanum his freondscipe, swa þæt hi mostan heora ealdrihta wyrðe beon. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xv. 31 [He] ᵹelecnade hea.., sua þæt ðreatas wundradun. c1200Ormin Ded. 293 Swa þatt he mannkinn wel inoh Off helle mihhte lesenn. c1300Havelok 216 Þe king..dede him sore swinge,..So þat þe blod ran of his fleys. 1340Ayenb. 53 Þe ilke..wylleþ hyealde hire fole uelaȝredes, zuo þet hi ne conne ne hi ne moȝe healde mesure. c1440Alph. Tales 65 Such weddur þat stroyed all þe vynys,..so at þer wyne had nowder colour nor savor. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 28 b, [They] had conveighed their shippes in to the havens, so that he could not fight with them on the sea. 1600Pory tr. Leo's Africa vi. 280 Of..flesh heere is great scarcitie, so that they are constrained to eate camels flesh onely. 167012th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 21 The under pettycoatt very richly laced.., so that 50 or 60 pounds [is] but an ordinary price. c1760Challoner in E. Burton Life (1909) II. xxiv. 28 We will spend our evenings..at our own lodgings, so that we may be found. 1820Scott Monast. xiv, So that Mary Avenel..was regarded with a mysterious awe. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped xiv, The turf roof of it had fallen entirely in; so that the hut was of no use to me.
24. so..that, in such a way, to such an extent, that:
a. With adjs. and advs., or equivalent phrases.
a900Cynewulf Crist 323 Hio..ece stondað..swa beclysed þæt næniᵹ oþer..hy æfre ma eft onluceð. a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 183 [Thou art] swo leoflic and swa lufsum þet te engles a biholdeþ þe. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2207 Þe romeins beþ anud of hor trauail so sore..þat hii nolleþ come here nanmore. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 324 Swilk men er ay swa unstedfast, Þat na drede may with þam last. c1450Merlin ii. 37 The water maketh so grete bruyt that all that is made a-boven it moste nede falle. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §151 Theyr cotes be so syde, that they be fayne to tucke them vp whan they ryde. 1574Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1584) 165 You aske me histories so straunge.., that my wits may not in anye wise but needes goe on Pilgrimage. 1625Purchas Pilgrims II. 1138 The wind..came with so great gales, that it raised the sands of the coast very high. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vi. iii, The Squire was so delighted with this conduct of his daughter, that he scarce eat any dinner. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral Tales (1816) I. iv. 21 So ill that she could hardly speak. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley viii, He sat so long in this attitude, that Robert turned round at last.
b. With verbs.
In verse (more rarely in prose) sometimes placed after the verb, and immediately followed by that, but separated from it by a pause.
(a)c950Lindisf. Gosp. John iii. 16 Suæ..lufade god ðone middanᵹeard þætte sunu his ancende ᵹesalde [etc.]. c1320Cast. of Love 1523 God leeue vs here so ende, Þat we ben worþi to heuene wende. c1386Chaucer Prol. 32 So hadde I spoken with hem..That I was of here felawschipe anon. 1411Rolls of Parlt. III. 651/1 The same Loord the Roos schall so doon to hem, that they schall tellen hem wel payed. 1480Cov. Leet Bk. 437 To so direct that your said Oratours haue all þat..shall accorde with right. a1592Greene Alphonsus i. i, Now a days so irksome idless' sleights..have witch'd each students mind, That death it is [etc.]. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 130 The example doth so suite the Text, that I could not pretermit it here. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 719 So frownd the mighty Combatants, that Hell Grew darker. 1735Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. v. 75 This Answer and the Present so provok'd Mahomet..that [etc.]. 1883Harper's Mag. Nov. 905/2 To so cut down his power..that he would be inclined [etc.].
(b)a1175Cott. Hom. in O.E. Hom. I. 231 Þa be-fel hit swa þat him a þance befell. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3503 Wurð ðin fader and moder so, ðat ðu hem drede and helpe do. a1300Cursor M. 7509, I..scok þam be þe berdes sua Þat i þair chafftes raue in tua. 1390Gower Conf. I. 12 Whil the lawe is reuled so That clerkes to the werre entende. 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. iv. 4 It stode so vpon the bullockes, that thre were turned towarde the north [etc.]. c1600Shakes. Sonn. lxxi, I loue you so That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot, If [etc.]. 1697Protestant Mercury No. 189, A Porter's Wife..Beat her Husband so, that she forced him to leap over a Balconey.
†c. Expressing a contrast: Although..yet.
1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts, Isaiah xlii. 2 Yet so shall he be gracious to the penitently dejected, that he shall not beare with the obstinate sinner.
d. With but (= that..not).
1842Macaulay Horatius xviii, There was no heart so bold, But sore it ached.
25. a. With omission of that, = sense 24.
a1310in Wright Spec. Lyric P. 74 Thou art so god a mon, Thi love y ȝyrne also y con. c1330Arth. & Merl. 3458 (Kölbing), A dint he ȝaf him so hard, Þe launce ran þe brini þurch. c1440Contin. Brut II. 583 Caleis was so ferd of you, þey shitte neuer a gate. 15..Christ's Kirk ii. in Bann. MS. 283 Thay wer so nyss..Thay squeilit lyk ony gaitis. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. vi, A plant, so unlike a Rose, it hath been mistaken..for Amomum. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 308 He..treads so light, he scarcely prints the Plains. 1742Young Nt. Th. iii. 135 So man is made, nought ministers delight But what his glowing passions can engage. 1818Byron Mazeppa xviii, Once so near me he alit, I could have smote. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xiii, Hetty was blushing so, she didn't know whether she was happy or miserable.
b. With the so-clause placed after that stating the consequence or result.
a1225Ancr. R. 222 He bihalt on oðre þet he ne mei nones weis makien vuele iðoncked, so lufful & so reouðful is hire heorte. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2317 Out of witte þan þai shuld men flay, Swa orrible and swa foul er þai. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xliii. 104 His herte þoruȝ-out his syde He ȝiueþ vs, he is so fre! 14..Hoccleve Minor Poems xvi. 4, I may nat deliure hem by no weye, So me werreyeth coynes scarsetee. c1500Melusine vi. 28 Raymondin..herd ne saw nought, so sore was hys wit troubled. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. iii. 11 Then coulde he not answere him one worde agayne, he feared him so. 1626Sir E. Cecil in J. Glanville's Voy. Cadiz (Camden) p. xliii, The shipp had sunke in the sea, she proved so leakie. 1681Dryden Abs. & Achit. 813 Friends he has few, so high the madness grows. 1787Burns Halloween iv, A runt was like a sow-tail, Sae bow't that night. 1822Scott Nigel x, Habits..to young men are like threads of silk, so lightly are they worn, so soon broken. 1867A. J. Wilson Vashti xvii, The azure mantle..seemed to melt in air, so dim were its graceful outlines.
26. a. so (that), in limiting sense: On condition that, provided that, so long as, if only. Cf. 30.
(a)c1000Apollonius of Tyre (Thorpe) 20 Nim nu lareow appolloni, swa hit þe ne mislicyᵹe. c1375Cursor M. 5991 (Fairf.), To-morne þe fleys sal be þe fra, so þou be-gyle vs na mare. c1386Chaucer H. Fame i. 423 He had y-swore to hire..That so she saved hym hys lyfe, He wolde haue take hir to hys wife. c1460Towneley Myst. xx. 587 All my couandys holden shall be. So I haue felyship me abowte. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §43 Butter and swynes grease..are good, soo they be not salte. 1613Jackson Creed ii. 453 The proofe were good, so it could be proued. 1658Sir T. Browne Hydriot. §2 (1736) 18 Ulysses cared not how meanly he lived, so he might find a noble Tomb after Death. 1710Steele Tatler No. 208 ⁋4 It is no Matter how dirty a Bag it is conveyed to him in,..so the Money is good. 1750Johnson Rambler No. 81 ⁋2 Which duty ought to be most esteemed, we may continue to debate..; so all be diligently performed. 1812Cary Dante, Purg. ix. 22 So but the suppliant at my feet implore. 1816Byron Ch. Har. i. xiii. song, I'll swiftly go..; Nor care what land thou bear'st me to, So not again to mine.
(b)c1000ælfric Numb. xxii. 20 Far mid him, swa þæt [L. ita duntaxat ut] þu do, þæt ic þe bebeode. c1320Cast. Love 1042 Al þis wyde world I chul ȝeuen þe, So þat þou bouwe and honoure me. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 89, I forȝiue him þat gult.., So þat ȝe assented beo. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. (1896) 8 Oft þe prince hym profred to delyuer hym out of prison, so þat he wold be his helppe to werry vpon þe kynge. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xlviii. 188 Yf nedes I shal dey, I were..wel content soo that it were in the absence of her. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lviii. 202, I offer to make you amendes..so that ye wyl ayde me. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. (1882) ii. 85 You condemne not funerall sermons then, so that they be good. 1652J. Wright tr. Camus' Nat. Paradox ix. 211 Writing I am well contented to permit; So that I see your Letter. 1755Monitor No. 8, Let us not regard by what name it shall be called, so that it be carried on vigorously. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xix. 154 To M. it was..indifferent who was found guilty, so that he could recover his money. 1859Tennyson Marr. Geraint 304 So that ye do not serve me sparrow-hawks For supper, I will enter.
b. In the event that, in case that. rare.
c1000Charter in Thorpe Dipl. Angl. Sax. (1865) 202 He him þet land forbead, swa he æniᵹes brucan wolde. 1872Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 268 But, so thou dread to swear, Pass not beneath this gateway.
VI.
†27. so as, although. Obs.
c1300Havelok 337 Þat hire haued in sorwe brouth, So as sho ne misdede nouth!
28. a. so.., or so..as, so as, followed by an infinitive denoting result or consequence.
The omission of as is now regarded as irregular.
(a)c1395Plowman's Tale i. 373 Peter was never so great a fole To leve his key with such a lorell. c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 943 The Ryvers..so myghty and so large To bere a gret ship or a barge. c1450Merlin i. 6 How shulde I be so hardy to do as ye telle me. 1526Tindale N.T. Prol., Who ys so blynde to axe why lyght shulde be shewed to them that walke in dercknes. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 65, I am not so childishe to take euery bushe for a monster. 1658Rowley et al. Witch of Edmonton ii. i, If you'll be so kind to ka me one good turn I'll be so courteous to kob you another. 1709Swift Vind. Bickerstaff Wks. 1755 II. i. 171 He hath been indeed so wise to make no objections against the truth of my predictions. 1767Wilkes Corr. w. Friends (1805) III. 223 Be so good to continue to favour me with your letters. 1803M. Charlton Wife & Mistress IV. 161 She enquired if Mrs. Aubrey had been so kind to procure the child a new wardrobe.
(b)1445in Anglia XXVIII. 271 Nevir the[e] she so diseasyd as oonys..To folowe her wille. 1558Kennedy Comp. Treat. in Misc. Wodrow Soc. (1844) 97 That I..durst be sua baulde, as to attempt sua heych ane purpose. 1648Heylin Relat. & Observ. i. 78 Whosoever shall dare to be so good a Patriot as to oppose their Tyranny. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 747 A crop so plenteous, as the land to load. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋7, I hope you will not be so apparently partial to the Women, as to let them go wholly unobserved. 1779Mirror No. 17, Our shop was so well frequented, as to require the constant attendance of both of us. 1828Duppa Trav. Italy, etc. 98 The others were so broken into small fragments as to be useless. 1885Law Times Rep. LIII. 785/1 It is impossible to say that any one case is so in point as to carry this case.
(c)c1680Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 283 They all run, but not so as to obtain. 1736Gentl. Mag. VI. 716/1, I think it impossible to amend it..so as to make it a Bill fit for being passed. 1853Zoologist II. 3724 Dismounting and hobbling the horse so as to allow him to feed. 1896Law Times C. 488/1 To repair the drain so as to abate the nuisance complained of.
b. With infinitive preceded by a n. rare.
1709Swift Merlin's Prediction Wks. 1755 II. i. 177 The river Thames frozen twice in one year, so as men to walk on it.
c. With pa. pples. (to have being omitted).
1790Burns Tam o' Shanter 17 Hadst thou but been sae wise, As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice! 1797in C. Kegan Paul W. Godwin (1876) I. 237 You might have been so good as told me a few more particulars.
29. a. so as, in such a way that, so that. Now dial.
1523Ld. Berners tr. Froissart I. xiii. 13 The quene..dyd gyue great Jewelles to eche of them,..so as they all helde them selfe ryght well content. 1609in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 82, I understood of the infection lately come to some houses there adjoining, so as I forbear to go thither. c1651in Morris Troubles Cath. Foref. (1872) i. vi. 304 This summer we also whited the church and choir,..so as our Monastery was made very handsome. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) II. 217 So as the great and small shall be under mutual obligations to each other. 1817H. T. Colebrooke Algebra, etc. Notes & Illustr. p. lxxvii, Then you desire to complete your square so as it shall amount to one whole square. 1905Longman's Mag. Apr. 541 So as he could go and see his sweetheart.
b. so..as, in similar use, with the subject of the second clause either expressed, or implied in the previous context.
(a)1548Wishart Conf. Faith in Misc. Wodrow Soc. (1844) 13 We attribute so free wyll to man as we,..wyllynge to do good, fele experience of euyll. 1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 50 The words..beeing so set, as one word cannot be lost. 1608E. Grimstone Hist. France 702 The Emperour..so terrifies the Pope, as hee abandons his vassall Octauio. 1654Burton's Diary (1828) I. 42 This sounded so plausibly in every man's ear, as it was soon embraced. 1738Gentl. Mag. VIII. 327/2 They had Guards so posted, as they were not to be surprized.
(b)1611Sir W. Mure Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 9 Greedie to behold So rair perfectioune as cannot be told. 1678Walton Life Sanderson 11 Changes those cares into so mutual joys, as makes them become [etc.]. 1779Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 66 With so heavy rain, as penetrated the new roof of the vessel. 1784Miss Carter Lett. to Miss Talbot IV. 341 My wretched head has been so thoroughly uncomfortable.., as rendered me quite unfit for writing.
c. so..as that, so as that, = prec. (a).
1583T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. i. 1 b, The officers went so neere the consciences of men, as that they spared not to torment pore miserable soules. 1634Milton Comus 366, I do not think my sister so to seek, Or so unprincipl'd in vertues book,..As that [etc.]. a1700Evelyn Diary 22 Mar. 1675, 2 distinct keeles crampt together.., so as that a violent streame ran betweene. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 55 When both flames have approached so near as that they join. 1817H. T. Colebrooke Algebra, etc. 258 Here the least square quantity must be so devised, as that the second may be an integer.
30. so as, provided that, etc. Cf. 26.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. i. 114 b, To be preferred vnto the gouernment.., so as they had passed their time..without reprehension. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus, Ann. iii. i. (1622) 64 Which was to him..honourable, so as there were a meane vsed. 1635R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. ii. 136 Henry Percy offered..to free the Queene of Scots out of prison so as Grange and Carre..would receive her at the borders. 1807E. S. Barrett Rising Sun I. 127, I care not how you come by them, so as they are ready to supply my wants. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xxvi, He could play 'em a tune on any sort of pot you please, so as it was iron or block tin.
VII. In various phrases.
so to say: see say v.1 11. so to speak: see speak v.
†31. than so, than that. Obs.
a1425Cursor M. 23568 (Trin.), Mony þingis may we do Þat better were vndone þen so. 1525Ld. Berners tr. Froissart II. 754 Kyng Henry was more gentyll than so; for he had some pytie on hym. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 104 Lord Aubrey Vere Was done to death, and more then so, my Father. 1677W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. v. 96 'Tis reasonable to suppose, that the Sacrament may be celebrating in more places than so, at once. a1716Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 213 If it be not more than so, it will not be such an Obedience as God will accept.
32.
†a. and so, = next. Obs. rare.
a1400–50Alexander 1565 Sum with sensours & so with silueryn cheynes. Ibid. 2551 If þai were sary & so, na selly me thingke. 1602[see 33 a].
b. and so on, used as an abbreviating phrase to avoid further description or the enumeration of further details.
and so forth: see forth adv. 9 b. and so forward: see forward adv. 1.
1724Welsted Epist., etc. 123 Till, in time, the English we now speak is become as obsolete and unintelligible as that of Chaucer, and so on. 1837P. Keith Bot. Lex. 258 An incipient stem,..which in the following year is augmented in height as before, and so on in succession as long as the plant grows. 1847Howitt's Jrnl. II. 201/2 While the East London Water Company is supplying an impure water at 5l. 12s., and so on, per house. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 488 There may be high fever,..nausea, vomitings, smart diarrhœa and so on.
33. or so:
a. Or something of that kind; or the like.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. ii. 212 Ber. Is she wedded, or no? Boy. To her will sir, or so. 1602― Ham. v. ii. 157 Girdle, Hangers or so [Qq. and so]. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 49 He..therefore bore it not about; Unless on Holy-days, or so. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 44 Some⁓times he pores upon a Pack of Cards, or so. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxi, I used to think nothing on earth could fluster them, unless, indeed, it was a ghost, or so. 1818Byron Juan Ded. iii, And then you overstrain yourself, or so. 1842Tennyson Day-dream, Revival iv, My joints are somewhat stiff or so.
b. Or about that amount or number; or thereabout.
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 50 For an eternall moment, or so. 1601― Twel. N. iii. ii. 59 Some two thousand strong, or so. 1814Scott Diary 17 Aug. in Lockhart (1837) III. vi. 207 A King's ship about eighteen guns or so. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. ii. 35 He returned in an hour or so. 1885Manch. Exam. 10 July 5/3 A Sunday or so ago.
34. a. so or so, after this or that manner; this or that. Also with many (cf. 37 e).
c1449Pecock Repr. iii. 350 For that so or so or so (and in noon other wise) it is writun in storie or cronicle. 1570Googe Pop. Kingd. (1880) i. 3 b, For no man dare demaunde of him, why dost thou so or so. 1687Settle Refl. Dryden's Plays 85 I'le die a thousand deaths before I'le do so or so. 1749Richardson in Mrs. Barbauld Corr. (1804) IV. 291 From her air and..her face, he sets her down in his mind as so or so. 1784Phil. Trans. LXXIV. 189 A clock, of such a construction, kept or altered its rate so or so. 1835T. Mitchell Aristoph. Acharn. 307 note, Wine..is said..to bear or admit so or so many portions of water.
†b. neither (also nothing) so nor so, neither the one nor the other; neither this (way) nor that; not at all the fact or case. Obs.
1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. (1882) ii. 34 They persuade the buier it is good, and that it is woorth the money, whereas indeed it is nothing so, nor so. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. vi. i. 90 Making you beleeve a thing which is neither so nor so. 1610A. Cooke Pope Joan 12 As though that Temple had had a spire steeple like ours; which is neither so, nor so. 1611Cotgr., Rien rien, no no, neither so nor so. 1682T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 73 (1713) II. 198 Earn. Most of 'em are said to have either a Competency, or another Trade... Jest. This is neither so nor so.
VIII. With various adjs. and advs. of quantity, number, etc.
35. so far, in literal and transferred senses (see far adv. 6 and far-forth adv. 2):
a. Without correlative word or clause.
a1300Cursor M. 2253 Now we haue vs sped sa ferr, Vr wil may he noght vs merr. 1390Gower Conf. II. 33 Yit so fer cowthe I nevere finde Man that..Me cowthe teche such an art. 1535Coverdale Ps. cii. 12 Loke how wyde the east is from the west, so farre hath he set oure synnes from vs. 1611Bible Ps. xxii. 1 Why art thou so far from helping me? 1696A. Telfair's New Confut. Sadd. Pref. A 2 Having once gone so far, they will easily be induced to believe, that there's no Resurrection at all. 1754Hume Hist. Eng. (1812) I. App. i. 198 He [the King] was even, so far, on a level with the people. a1797H. Howard in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 433/2 Every place given to an Englishman is so far a loss to the people. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxvii, Will you so far trust me? 1832Greville Mem. 27 Mar. (1874) II. 273, I have no doubt that all the ultras will be deeply mortified..at the success so far of ‘the Waverers’. 1892Speaker 3 Sept. 288/1 Nothing has, so far, been allowed to transpire as to its name and contents.
Comb.1880Nature XXI. 407 This so-far improved feature of temperature.
b. Followed by as, with various constructions.
Examples of the literal sense are placed under (b).
(a) [a1300Cursor M. 16386 Sacles es he sa feir se sum i can (= so far as I can see).] 1485Sc. Acts, Jas. III (1814) II. 172 Þe Custumaris at þair comptis making..to be dischargit of safer as þai deliuer to þe said wardan & changeour. 1565Stapleton tr. Staphylus' Apol. 148 Some are.. courtly protestants, which admit Luther so farre as them list. 1723Sir R. Blackmore Hist. Conspiracy Pref. A 8 b, Some..only advanced so far as to excite Popular Jealousies. 1742Ld. Hardwicke in Johnson's Debates (1787) II. 161 The law..is however to be so far fixed, as that every man may know his own condition. 1779Mirror No. 14, I had actually gone so far as to write three introductory sentences. 1801Farmer's Mag. Jan. 39 So far as I can now recollect. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xviii, Who played the part of steward so far as it was not performed by old Mr. Donnithorne him⁓self. 1876Gladstone Glean. (1879) II. 313 So far as we can gather, a sober estimate prevails.
(b)1513Douglas æneid vi. iii. 83 Sa fer before Achates and Enee As thai mycht weil behald thaim with thair E. 1675in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 247 Cleanseing the shallowes in the river so farre as Crane Bridge. 1806T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. I. 76 Have you in your rambles, ever reached so far as the Park, Edward? 1898E. P. Evans Evol. Ethics vi. 216 He sees clearly so far as his lantern casts its rays.
c. In the phrase in so far as (see in prep. 39).
1546Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 31 In safer as concernis the said Williamys awine part. 1581Burne in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 140 In safar as thay confes Christ to be the sone of the leuing God. 1672Justiciary Rec. (S.H.S.) 117 The complainer was no Magistrate in swa far as he had not taken the Declaration. 1780Mirror No. 96, In so far as my improvement was concerned, they spared no expence. 1846H. W. Torrens Rem. Milit. Hist. 11 The hieroglyphic inscriptions.., in so far as their characters have been decyphered. 1876L. Stephen Hist. Eng. Th. 18th C. II. 418 Wesley..differs from Warburton and his like in so far as God is regarded as an active administrator.
d. Followed by that.
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ii. 60 Sith that it is soo ferre come that ye wyll not here vs, we shall kepe owr peas. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. ii. (1877) 259 One of the accusers..had gone so ferre, that he spake moche what these wordes folowing. 1711Addison Spect. No. 5 ⁋3 This strange Dialogue awakened my Curiosity so far, that I immediately bought the Opera. 1845Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. II. 577 It is also so far a source of strength..that it gives [etc.].
e. so far from, used to give emphasis to a different statement following. Also with that.
(a)1547Homilies (1859) 112 David was so far from rejoicing at these news, that..forthwith he rent his clothes. 1677Miége Dict. ii. s.v. Far, I am so far from loving her, that I hate her. 1736Ainsworth Eng.-Lat. Dict. i. s.v., They were so far from selling, that they bought. 1868J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 479 So far was it from doing so that it caused a rapid under-current of reaction.
(b)1779Mirror No. 33, Which, so far from being inconsistent.., is the most probable means of accomplishing it. 1813Milner in Suppl. Mem. Eng. Cath. 305 As to..the Bible, the Catholic Church, so far from locking that up, requires her Pastors to study the whole of it. 1870Ruskin Arrows of the Chace II. 225 So far from wishing to give votes to women, I would fain take them away from most men.
f. In the phr. so far, so good, used to express satisfaction with matters up to a certain point.
1721J. Kelly Scottish Proverbs 300 So far, so good. So much is done to good purpose. 1754Richardson Sir Charles Grandison V. x. 56 ‘So far, so good,’ said aunt Eleanor. 1809Malkin Gil Blas vi. i. ⁋11 So far, so good! said the worshipful commissioner; we have only to proceed in our examination. a1843Southey Doctor ccxxxix. (1848) 650 So far so good, but this once influential writer makes an erroneous conclusion. 1875Ruskin Fors Clav. lxi. 11 So far, so good, Nature and facts are beginning to assert themselves.
36. so long: (see long adv. 1 b, 1 c).
37. so many.
a. Such a (large) number (of).
attrib.c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiii. §2 Þonne hi..heora God on swa moniᵹe dælas todælað, þonne [etc.]. c1230Hali Meid. 8 [It] deð hire in to drechunge,..& to se monie earmden. 13..St. Augustin 1731 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1878) 91 Þer weore laft so mani Signes of wax,..Þat seint Austines chapel [etc.]. 1508Dunbar Poems vii. 66 Thow suld be hye renownit, That did so mony victoryse opteyn. 1577St. Aug. Manual (Longman) 110 How shall it be capable of so many and so great ioyes? 1639Burton Will in Anat. Mel. (1893) I. p. xxx, Because there be soe many casualties to which our life is subjecte. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 257 Peradventure lying among so many his Writings and old Letters. 1780Mirror No. 104, It is..a melancholy circumstance..to find so many noble palaces deserted by their illustrious owners. 1820Keats St. Agnes xxxviii, Here will I take my rest After so many hours of toil and quest. 1878Swinburne To Victor Hugo xv, Hast thou seen time, who hast seen so many things?
absol.c897K. ælfred tr. Gregory's Past. C. xxviii. 191 Buton he..sua moniᵹe ᵹecierre sua he mæsð mæᵹe. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 162 Þe folk..þat saw..he gerte but resone sa mony sla, Raisit in hym sedicione. c1450Holland Howlat 237 Confess cleir can I nocht..The maner, nor the multitud, so mony thar was. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 8 Loiterers I kept so meanie, both Philip, Hob, and Cheanie. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 360 We are not so many of us, here is Room enough for us all. 1812Crabbe Tales ii. 142 Believe it..glorious to prevail, And stand in safety where so many fail.
b. so (or as) many.., so many, used to express equality in numbers. (See also how adv. 14 c.)
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Prol. Matt. 1 Swæ moniᵹ aron bissena..swa moniᵹe boec. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 12 b, Verifiynge the olde Prouerbe, so many heades, so many wittes. a1633J. Austin Medit. (1635) 149 So many men, so many minds (saies the proverb): but here they were of one accord. 1718Ozell tr. Tournefort's Voy. II. 181 When a Bassa is in march, so many robbers taken, so many heads off in an instant. 1735Berkeley Free-think. in Mathemat. §44 As many men, so many minds.
c. Followed by as († or the relative that).
1340–70Alisaunder 441 Þat by strength of her strife þei straught to foote All so many as his menne mighten areche. c1400Brut ccxxvii. 299 Ȝet were þey threfold so meny of hem as of Englisshe men. 1489Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 131 Samony of the..cuschingis, weschale, and seruiotis, as aucht to be deliuerit. 1549Compl. Scotl. 163 Sa mony of ȝou that ar defensabil men sal pas in propir person in battel. 1597Jas. VI in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 422/2 Sa mony as are yet in hands sal be distributit. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 426 In this passage there are so many particulars obseruable concerning tithing, as there bee words in the same. 1685Caldwell P. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 150 A man..gives notice..by so many windings of his horn as there are horse⁓men coming. 1735Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. x. 98 Every Man being allowed so many Wives as he hath hundreds of Cows. 1825Scott Talism. xxviii, Had I not brought up unexpectedly so many Arabs as rendered the scheme abortive.
Comb.1665J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 15 To be a so-many-sided Figure as there are Segments wanting.
d. As many; an equal number (of). Freq. in vaguer sense, a number (pack, etc.) of.
(a)1563–4Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 263 Thai and samony of thair freindis being present. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 43 Hauing with him onely ten horsemen, with so many Archers on horsebacke. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 79 We are but men; and what so many may doe,..we haue done. 1678Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. i. §97. 468/1 In twenty eight Battels he became Master of so many Kingdoms.
(b)1600Pory tr. Leo's Africa ix. 348 The ostriches wander vp and downe..in orderly troupes, so that a far off a man would take them to be so many horsemen. 1631Gouge God's Arrows v. §11. 422 A few couragious men to great armies of cowards, are as so many Lyons to whole heards of deere. 1711Addison Spect. No. 50 ⁋3 Pillars that stand like the Trunks of so many Trees. 1839Thackeray Fatal Boots Oct., The carriage, the house in town, the West India fortune, were only so many lies which I had blindly believed. 1885Manch. Exam. 20 May 5/1 They turned upon him like so many curs let loose.
e. Used to denote an unspecified number.
1533Gau Richt Vay 3 That thay..suld haiff sa mony thousand zeris of pardone. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Chete, The ship is so many foot deepe in hold. 1631Gouge God's Arrows i. §29. 44 Papists..going barefoot so many miles. 1780Mirror No. 87, Creeping on his knees up the steps of St. Peter's so many times a day.
38. so mickle, = next. (See also insameikle.)
c888K. ælfred Boeth. i, Þa hit ða ᵹelomp þæt se arwyrða wæs on swa micelre nearanesse. 971Blickl. Hom. 25 Nu he swa mycel for ure lufan ᵹeþrowode. c1175Lamb. Hom. 31 Ne mahtic ȝelden swa muchel swa ic habbe idon to herme. a1200Moral Ode 357 in Trin. Coll. Hom., He haueð sswo muchel þat he ne bit no more. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 6013 Swa mykel folk com never togyder..sythen þe werld bygan. 14..26 Pol. Poems xxvi. 217 Hym was nat lefte so mekyll a clothe Hys naked body for to hele. 1503in Littlejohn Aberd. Sheriff Crt. (1904) 48 The said corn was samekle of waile in tyme of the spoliacioun therof. 1581Hamilton Cath. Traictise Ep. 2 Not samekle for the present calameteis.., as for [etc.]. 1609[see mickle B. 1 c]. 1820Scott Monast. Introd. Ep., There were few folk kend sae muckle about the Abbey.
39. so much. (See also for-, insomuch.)
* adj. a. So great, extensive, or abundant; so large a quantity or number of, etc.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1345 Godes sune, þet se muche godlec cudde us alle on eorðe. 13..K. Alis. 1032 (W.), Alle the innes of the toun Haddyn litel foisoun,..So muche people with hire was. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 431 Siche signes drawen fro love of Crist þo þat setten so meche trist in hem. c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 49 Thowh there was so moche nede, I fynde no mynde of furres or pilches. a1529Skelton Sp. Parrot 443 So myche newe makyng,..So myche translacion in to Englyshe confused. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 167 This last costly Treaty.., That swallowed so much treasure. 1651Howell Venice 31 Seeing the English buy so much Currans. 1780Mirror No. 110, A performance, the reception of which was liable to so much uncertainty. 1812Crabbe Tales v. 178 That so much beauty..Raised strong emotions in the poet's mind. 1884W. S. B. McLaren Spinning (ed. 2) 28 Some soda is often put into..potash soaps just because it will hold so much water.
b. So largely possessed of something.
1509Hawes Past. Pleas. iii. (Percy Soc.) 15 The fayre tower so muche of ryches Was all about sexangled. 1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. lxxxvi. 10 For why? thou art so much of might.
c. An equal sum or amount of (something).
1557in Marsden Sel. Pl. Crt. Admiralty (Selden Soc.) II. 72, I..do owe unto John Levytt..for so moche redy money of him resayved..the some of fyfty pownds. 1695Telfair New Confut. Sadd. (1696) 3 He took up the Threshold, found the Tooth, and threw it into the Fire, where it burnt like so much Tallow. 1857Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art ii. §90 Whenever you buy a copy, you buy so much misunderstanding of the original. 1885Mrs. E. Lynn Linton C. Kirkland I. 219 Even my languages..were merely so much literary furniture.
** adv. d. Followed by the and a comparative (and sometimes with by preceding): To that extent, in that degree.
a1225Leg. Kath. 413 And swa muche þe swiðere þet he bihet to medin ham mid swiðe heh mede. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. (1896) 6 He..soiourned thar a whill; & so mych the blethelier, for þer com oft shippes theder. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 216 b, He was brent in a small fire, that hys torment might be so mutch the greater. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 179 By how much the more thou excellest others in honours, by so much the more thou oughtest to exceed them in honestie. 1611Bible Mark vii. 36 The more hee charged them, so much the more a great deale they published it. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 95 It is so much the worse, by how much it deviates from Equality. 1741Challoner Mem. Missionary Priests Pref. (1803) A 2 Which appeared.., by so much the more wanting, by how much the less [etc.]. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 574 Others frequently concur to this end so much the better, the more that they seem to deviate from it. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert vii. 77 If the lady remained at Syracuse for a day or two, so much the better.
e. To such an extent; in such a degree.
1388Wyclif Eccl. ii. 13 And Y siȝ, that wisdom ȝede so mych bifor foli, as miche as liȝt is dyuerse fro derknessis. 1519Interlude Four Elements in Hazlitt Dodsley I. 22, I marvel greatly, That ever ye would use the company So mich of such a knave. 1580in Allen Martyrdom Campion (1908) 26 Rage man or devil never so much. 1692E. Walker's tr. Epictetus' Mor. (1737) To Mr. E. W. on his Transl., Nor is your Author had in less esteem Than that great Man so much admir'd by him. 1742Ld. Percival in Johnson's Debates (1787) II. 265 In so much a better manner than I thought my⁓self able to do. 1768–74A. Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 59 How much we desire an absent positive good, so much we are in pain for it. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. ii, But wherefore..so much displeased but now at my young friend Charles? 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxvi, Villages, and market⁓towns—all so much alike to her indifferent eyes.
Comb.1664Pepys Diary 1 Jan., Saw the so much cried-up play of ‘Henry the Eighth’. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. i. ii. vi. (1841) I. 45 These so-much-boasted politicians. 1848Dickens Dombey xxxi, The so-much-to-be-astonished chicken. 1860E. Falkener Dædalus Introd. 2 The so-much-talked-of trabeated ceilings of the ancients.
*** n. f. An equal amount; as much.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 3440 Thei prayed him alle that viage to take, To do so moche for her sake. c1400Brut civ. 105 If ȝe so miche..haue y-wonne, an C. tymes so miche..ȝe hauen loste. 1589Pappe w. Hatchet in Lyly's Wks. 1902 III. 407 This is a good settled speech, a Diuine might haue seemd to haue said so much. c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 32, I never saw him angry.., and have heard so much of him for many years before. a1679Hobbes Rhet. i. vii. 14 More, is so much, and somewhat besides. 1780Mirror No. 94, I cannot say so much for his acquaintance C. D. 1810Crabbe Borough ii. 55 note, I would answer, that I understand so much. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxi, He kissed her hand. Except when she was married, he had not done so much for years before.
g. A certain unspecified amount, sum, etc.
1382Wyclif Acts v. 8 Womman, seye to me, if ȝe solden the feeld for so moche? And she seide, Ȝhe, so moche. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. (1882) ii. 23 That such a thing cost them so much, and so much, and it is woorth this much and that much. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Pol. Touchstone (1674) 269 This..behaviour..is as so much of the best Sugar for you Italians, and as so much of the bitterest Poyson for the Spanish Nation. 1696Caldwell P. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 171 They have..soe much a day for their pocket money. 1737Gentl. Mag. VII. 552/1 They have nothing to do but to work them off as fast as They can, at so much a thousand. 1844Mrs. Browning Cry of the Human v, Each soul is worth so much on 'Change. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 88 Life is lost, By so much, when you lose a perfect sense.
h. Thus much, thus far. (Used to sum up or dismiss a matter.)
1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 240 So much for the time When. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. ii. §10 And so much for this second Hypothesis. 1707J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 350 So much for that; do you take me Sir. 1794Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. vii. 220 So much for public news. 1840P. Parley's Ann. 364 So much for the love of slaughter! 1891T. Hardy Tess (1900) 11/1 So much for Norman blood unaided by Victorian lucre.
i. Such an amount, quantity, etc.
See also ever adv. 9 b, 9 c, and never adv. 4.
1606G. Woodcocke Hist. Ivstine xxv. 93 There was so much of merit in him. 1711Addison Spect. No. 120 ⁋1 Sir Roger is very often merry with me upon my passing so much of my Time among his Poultry. 1732–8Swift Polite Conv. 131 (Footman fills him a Bumper.) Why do you fill so much? 1816Shelley Mt. Blanc 117 So much of life and joy is lost. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxiii, So many worlds, so much to do, So little done.
40. so much as, that, etc.
a. With as (or † so), in ordinary comparative use.
adj.c1275Lay. 25351 Folk þar com wel sone.., so moche so þar neuere hear [= ere] no man ne gadere[de]. a1400–50Alexander 1249 The multitude was so much as menys vs þe writtez. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 18 Somuch grownd as might receyue..his poore Carkas. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 263 Bene. You take pleasure then in the message. Beat. Yea iust so much as you may take vpon a kniues point. 1668Wilkins Real Char. 339 The other Affix..is not of so much use or necessity as the rest. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxix, Take so much leisure as to peruse this letter. 1865Ruskin Sesame ii. §80 Of half so much importance as [etc.].
n.a1400–50Alexander 3306, I..Has noȝt o maistri so meche as miȝt of my-selfe. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) l, He wold gif hom..so muche..As any lord wold. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 330 Often times it fortuned that a man can not attayne to do so muche as he would do. 1559Boke Presidentes 9 That ye will do so muche as..to present A. B. to the same. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 18 Others account so much to Paradise as those foure Riuers doe water. 1678Butler Hud. iii. ii. 1214 'Tis most true None bring him in so much as you. 1875M. Pattison Casaubon 522 Casaubon knew of his own age so much as the average of educated men know. 1886C. E. Pascoe London of To-day i. (ed. 3) 24 The poorest memory..will retain so much as that.
adv.c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. (1896) 16 He hatede nothynge so mych as that me shold spek of his stalwardnes. c1449Pecock Repr. i. iii. 13 A man schulde loue..his neiȝbore as him silf, thouȝ not so miche as him silf. 1530Palsgr. 567/1, I gave hym counsayle to the contrarye so moche as lay in me. 1595in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 336 All the way he prayed,..so much as he might. 1634Sir T. Hawkins Pol. Observ. 13 To these turmoyles, so much weighty as they were new, crosse omens of predictions were added. 1712Steele Spect. No. 466 ⁋3 With a Design to please no one so much as her Father. 1780Mirror No. 79, Not so much by the class of people..as by the kind of sentiments. 1831Scott Ct. Rob. xviii, Her attendant..kept herself modestly in the background, so much so as hardly to be distinguished.
b. Used to emphasize a negation.
a1425Cursor M. 16960 (Trin.), He þat neuer synne dud, ne so muche as hit þouȝt. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 197 Not so muche as putting pen to paper. c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 124 Without giving me so much as the least warning. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 144 There was not so much as a Meal of Victuals left for them. 1713Steele Englishman No. 40, I do not remember to have seen any small Birds, nor so much as a Crow or Magpye. 1782F. Burney Cecilia viii. viii, I should not expect any lady would so much as look at him. 1854Mrs. Oliphant Magdalen Hepburn II. 51 The priest's benedicite was not accompanied by so much as a glance. 1887Birrell Obiter Dicta Ser. ii. 151 [He] never so much as attained to a seat in the Cabinet.
c. With that, denoting result or consequence.
c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1794 Lordes han for to done So mych for hem-self, þat my mateere Out of hir mynde slippith away soone. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 119 Soo moche abode the foure sones of Aymon, that the nyghte came. 1595in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 290 He..was so muche greeved that..he went presently to Confession. c1670Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 45 This yeare he had the small pox so much that he was for a time blinded with them. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. iii, My attention was so much taken up..that I scarce looked forward. 1811Byron in R. C. Dallas Corr. of Byron (1825) II. 26, I feel myself so much a citizen of the world, that [etc.]. 1850Thackeray Pendennis xvi, So much so, that one afternoon..she..shook hands with him.
d. Followed by infinitive without as.
1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. i, I had so much wit to keepe my thoughts Vp in their built houses. 1874Swinburne Bothwell ii. ix, Though I have not so much grace To bind again this people fast to God.
▸ slang (chiefly U.S.). As an intensifier, forming non-standard grammatical constructions. Cf. sense 14a. a. Modifying a noun, or an adjective or adverb which does not usually admit comparison: extremely, characteristically.
Quot. 1923 represents an isolated use, app. without influence on later development of the sense.
1923R. Firbank Flower beneath Foot i. 16 What can you see in her..? She's so housemaid. 1979‘W. Allen’ & M. Brickman Manhattan in Four Films W. Allen (1982) 194 Yale: He's a big Bergman fan, you know. Mary: Oh, please, you know. God, you're so the opposite! I mean, you write that absolutely fabulous television show. 1988D. Waters Heathers (film script) 14 Grow up, Heather. Bulimia's so '86. 2001Toronto Star 7 Apr. m2/3 Got ya, sucker! You are so dead! 2001Heat 28 Apr.–4 May 81/2 Don't be expecting it to be cosy... The kid gloves are so off. 2004Independent (Tabloid ed.) 14 July i. 27 (headline) Falling out of fashion: why African models are so last year.
b. Modifying a verb: definitely, decidedly. Freq. in negative constructions.
1994A. Heckerling Clueless (Buff Rev. pages) 14 Oh thank you, Josh, I so need lessons from you on how to be cool. 1996J. Whedon Harvest in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Bk. (2000) (1st Season) I. 79 We so don't have time. 2000Brill's Content Aug. 110/1 It's the sort of slangy, informal use of so you might hear a teen of the MTV set employ, as in: ‘Omigod, I would so marry Carson Daly if he asked me’. 2004N.Y. Times (National ed.) 26 Dec. v. 8/3 I am so getting the milkshake.
c. so not——: emphatically not——.
1997N.Y. Mag. 25 Aug. 152/3 Napoleons are so not fun to eat. 1999S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xvi. 501 We guess communism just got buried in the rubble there somewhere. And those Ceauşescus? So not missed. 2005J. M. Czech Grace Happens xi. 62 You've seen the carousel and it's so not cool to be seen here if you're over nine years old.
▪ II. so
var. soe; obs. inf. and pa. tense pl. of see v. |