English
so-so
So-so comes from Old English swā swā ‘just as’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *swā.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swā swā‘just as’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500so so
- Englishearliest quotation 1765so-so
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swā swā‘just as’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500so so
- Englishearliest quotation 1765so-so
Earliest quotation: 1765, Oliver Goldsmith, The Haunch of Venison: “[I]n ſome Iriſh Houſes, vvhere things are ſo-ſo, /…”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *swā
Today it means
adj Neither good nor bad; tolerable, passable, indifferent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *swā / so-so