so

Etymology 1

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

conj

1. Reduced form of 'so that', used to express purpose; in order that.
   I got an earlier train to work so I'd have plenty of time to prepare for the meeting.
   Eat your broccoli so you can have dessert.
2. With the result that; for that reason; therefore.
   I was hungry, so I asked if there was any more food.
   He ate too much cake, so he fell ill.
   He wanted a book, so he went to the library.
   “I need to go to the bathroom.” ― “So go!”
   Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’[…].” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
3. Used to connect previous conversation or events to the following question.
   So how does this story end?
4. Used to introduce a rhetorical question.
   “We'd like to visit but I don't know if we can afford a hotel.” — “So who's staying in a hotel? Stay with us.”
5. (archaic) Provided that; on condition that, as long as.
   I went away very well satisfy’d, not caring where I was sent, so it was but out of his Sight; for he now became more my Aversion than ever. 1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 111

adv

1. To the (explicitly stated) extent that.
   It was so hot outside that all the plants died.
   He was so good, they hired him on the spot.
   Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’[…].” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. 2013-07-20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
2. To the (implied) extent.
   I need a piece of cloth so long. [ this long]
   There are only so many hours in a day.
3. Very (positive or negative clause).
   I feel so much better now.
   I so nearly lost my temper.
   It’s not so bad. [i.e. it's acceptable]
4. Very much.
   But I so want to see the Queen when she visits our town!
   I so wanted to be Jess Harley again. 1989, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5, Archie Comics
   Yeah! Not eating is so 90’s! Apr 16 2003, Michael Stokes, “I, Dude”, in Totally Spies!, season 2, episode 9, spoken by Clover (Andrea Taylor), Marathon Media, via Teletoon
   1. (informal) at all (negative clause).
      That is so not true!
5. In a particular manner.
   Place the napkin on the table just so. If that's what you mean, then say so; (or do so).
   1963, Mike Hawker, Ivor Raymonde (music and lyrics), Dusty Springfield (vocalist), I Only Want to Be with You (single), Don′t know what it is that makes me love you so, / I only know I never want to let you go.
6. In the same manner or to the same extent as aforementioned; also.
   Just as you have the right to your free speech, so I have the right to mine.  Many people say she's the world's greatest athlete, but I don't think so.  "I can count backwards from one hundred." "So can I."
   ‘There're another two.’ ‘So there are.’
   It was a goal that meant West Ham won on their first appearance at Wembley in 31 years, in doing so becoming the first team since Leicester in 1996 to bounce straight back to the Premier League through the play-offs. May 19, 2012, Paul Fletcher, “Blackpool 1-2 West Ham”, in BBC Sport
   it's okay to be different 'Cause baby, so am I 2019, Amanda Koci, Henry Walter, Charlie Puth, Maria Smith, Victor Thellm, Gigi Grombacher, Roland Spreckle (lyrics and music), “So Am I”, performed by Ava Max
7. (with as): To such an extent or degree; as.
   so far as;  so long as;  so much as

adj

1. True, accurate.
   That is so.
   You are responsible for this, is that not so?
2. In that state or manner; with that attribute. A proadjective that replaces the aforementioned adjective phrase.
   If this separation was painful to all parties, it was most so to Martha. 1823, Andrew Reed, Martha
   But if I had been more fit to be married, I might have made you more so too. 1872, Charles Dickens, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
   It must be understood that while the nelumbiums are hardy, they are so only as long as the tubers are out of the reach of frost. 1947, Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
3. (dated, UK, slang) Homosexual.
   Is he so?

intj

1. Used after a pause for thought to introduce a new topic, question or story, or a new thought or question in continuation of an existing topic.
   So, let's go home.
   So, what'll you have?
   So, there was this squirrel stuck in the chimney...
   So, everyone wants to know – did you win the contest or not?
   So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 11, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. Used as a question to ask for further explanation of something said, often rhetorically or in a dismissive or impolite manner.
   "You park your car in front of my house every morning." — "So?"
3. Used as a meaningless filler word to begin a response to a question.
   What are you doing? / So I'm just fixing this shelf.
   What time does the train leave? / So it leaves at 10 o'clock.
4. (archaic) Be as you are; stand still; used especially to cows; also used by sailors.

Etymology 2

pron

1. Abbreviation of someone.

Etymology 3

Shortened from sol, to make it an open syllable for uniformity with the rest of the scale.

noun

1. (music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the fifth note of a major scale.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Japanese 蘇 (so).

noun

1. (foods) A type of dairy product, made especially in Japan between the seventh and 10th centuries, by reducing milk by boiling it.