So

Part of speech: adverb, conjunction, interjection, noun

Definitions

1. To such a degree or extent ; as a consequence or result ; in the same way as something mentioned ; standing in for a clause just stated ; the musical note also called sol
2. Very or to that extent ; for that reason or therefore ; likewise or similarly ; that, used in place of a previous phrase ; a note of the musical scale, also called sol
3. Indicating a high degree of something ; thus, consequently ; equally, also ; used to replace an earlier statement ; the note sol in music notation

Etymology: Old English "swā" (also "swa", "swē") meant "so", "as", "in this manner" or "thus", and it sits in a family of words across Germanic languages: Dutch "zo", German "so", Swedish "så", and Scots "sae". Its roots reach back to an ancient reflexive stem, which is why the same sense of "in that way" shows up almost everywhere in the family. The Ancient Greek "hōs", meaning "as", is a distant relative, though that connection is found in the wider reconstruction rather than in English itself. The musical sense is a different story. In the eleventh century, Guido of Arezzo gave singers syllables for the notes of a scale, drawn from the opening syllables of a hymn, "Ut queant laxis", written by Paulus Deacon. The first syllable, "ut", was later swapped for "do" for ease of singing, and John Curwen's sol-fa system, based on Sarah Glover's earlier scheme, shortened "sol" to "so" so that every syllable would end in a vowel. This "so" is the same word, borrowed as a label rather than as a sense.

Synonyms: thus, therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly