Etymology

how so

Today it means: How?; In what way? Full definition →

Middle English how-so
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromhow-so
  2. English todayhow so

From ellipsis of "how is that so?", and also continuing Middle English how-so, hou-so, hu se (“however, in whatsoever way”). Compare West Frisian hoesa (“how so, why”), Dutch hoezo (“how so, why”), German Low German woso (“how so, why”), German wieso (“how so, why”), Swedish hurså (“how so”). By surface analysis, how + so.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishhow-so all →

howso

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.