English

how so

How?; In what way?

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    Origin

    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.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishhow-so

    Related: West Frisian hoesa, Dutch hoezo, German Low German woso, German wieso, Swedish hurså

    Sources