How to parse. ...

13,4

IRREGULARITIES. [Par. 203, 204.

203 3. " So." The radical meaning of "so" (Early
English " swa ") is "in that way;" and the radical
meaning of "as" (which is a contraction of an
emphatic form of "so," Early English "all-swa,"
"alse," "als," " as ") is "in which way," or "in
that way." Consequently, "as" has the Demonstrative meaning of " so," besides having its own
Relative meaning.
(1) "If you are busy, say so."
(2) "I thought he was a rascal, and he is so."
The Regular Construction would be(3) " He is it."
But (Law III.)1 the harshness of "it" in so
emphatic a position has tended to irregularity;
and (Law II.) this construction has been confused
with
(4) " I thought he was a rascal, and he turned out so,
proved so," &c.
In (4), " so " is used in its proper sense, viz. " in
that way," and it has been confused with and
substituted for " it" in Example (2), in which " so"
must be parsed as "used for it."
204 4. " So as-to."
(1) " The sailors furled the sails so as to be prepared
for the storm."

1 These Numbers refer to the Laws of Irregularity mentioned in
Paragraph 198.