zo

Forms

zo^[1] The older spelling is zoo.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch sô, inherited from Old Dutch sō, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *swā, which Wiktionary explains as a merger of Proto-Germanic *swa and *swē.^[3][1] The same word is Old Saxon sō, Old High German sō (modern German so), Old Frisian sā (modern West Frisian sa), Old English swā (modern English so), Old Norse svá (modern Swedish så), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌰 (swa) and 𐍃𐍅𐌴 (swē); the exact relation of the Germanic forms to each other is uncertain.^[3][4]

Its further origin is uncertain.^[3] The EWN suggests it arose beside the demonstrative ⟨*sa⟩ (see de) with endings modelled on the interrogative *hwē (“how”), the source of hoe.^[3] Kroonen and De Vries derive it from the reflexive stem Proto-Indo-European *swe-.^[4][5] De Vries in his larger dictionary compared Old Latin suad (“thus”), Oscan svaí (“if”) and Ancient Greek ὥς (hṓs, “as”), and reported the idea that ⟨*swod⟩ blended the demonstrative ⟨*sod⟩ with the interrogative ⟨*kʷod⟩.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is an Old Dutch prayer of 891–900, drohtin uuerthe so, “Lord, may it be so”.^[3][7] The 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms also use it of degree, in so eiselika thing, “so terrible a thing”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Dutch sō meant “in this way, thus” and “to such a degree”, and in comparisons sō … sō and alsō … sō meant “as … so”.^[7][3] As a conjunction it is recorded from the 10th century in Old Dutch, and in Middle Dutch from 1220, where it could mean “if”, “as” and “both … and”.^[7][9][1] Modern Dutch uses stressed zó for “in a moment”, and colloquially zo for “very”, or for “great” with a raised thumb.^[10][1]

In the 1980s zo kan-ie wel weer, “that will do”, was a new phrase, and by the late 1990s zo was increasingly used for zulk “such”: zo lekker ijs.^[11][12] Surinamese Dutch uses zo as a pronoun, “that”.^[13]

Negerhollands has soo, so and sa, also for “if”, and Afrikaans, Javindo and Petjo have so;^[14][1] Sranan so may come from Dutch or English.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 891–900 – Drohtin uuerthe so “Lord, may it be so”.^[3][7]
• 901–1000 – So “so much, so very” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[3][8]
• 1200 – Middle Dutch so is recorded in Limburg.^[9]
• 1220 – So as a conjunction is recorded in the Lower Rhine area.^[9]
• 1982 – Zo kan-ie wel weer is noted as a new phrase.^[11]

Meanings

Adverb

1. so, thus, in this or that way: Zo moet je de knoop leggen.^[10][1]
2. To such a degree: Het was zo koud dat de gracht bevroor.^[10][1]
3. In zo … als, as … as: Hij is zo groot als zijn vader.^[1]
4. (stressed) In a moment, right away: Ik ben zo terug.^[10][1]
5. (colloquial) Very, extremely; also “great”: Dat is zo vorig jaar.^[10]

Conjunction

1. (formal) If: een van de oudste kerken, zo niet de oudste.^[10][1]
2. As, in comparisons: zo vader, zo zoon, like father, like son.^[10]

Interjection

1. Expressing satisfaction, surprise or a conclusion: Zo, dat is klaar.^[10]

Word family

• zoals
• zodat
• zodanig
• zodoende
• zodra
• zo-even
• zogenaamd
• alzo
• evenzo
• hoezo
• ziezo
• hierzo

Related words

• zulk
• hoe
• English so

Usage notes

A noun zo, also zooi, with the diminutive zootje, means a quantity, originally a boiling (of fish); it is a contraction of Middle Dutch sōde “boiling”, from the verb zieden, and survives in rotzooi.^[6][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
5. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 458
6. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
9. ^ a b c Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
11. ^ a b Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
12. ^ Reinsma, R. (1999), Neologismen, Den Haag: Sdu
13. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
14. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)