Where does “not-so-hot” come from?

not-so-hot (English) comes from English Not, from Middle English not, from Middle English nought, from Old English nōwiht, from Old English ne, from Old English ealles, from Old English -es, from Proto-Germanic -as — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Ancestry of “not-so-hot”, step by step

not-so-hot traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English Not

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNot
2Middle Englishnotnot; nothing, nought; nobody, no person
3Middle Englishnoughtnothing, none; not; iniquitous, wicked
4Old Englishnōwiht
5Old Englishnenot; or, and not; "ne... ne..." is used to mean "...
6Old Englisheallescompletely, wholly, entirely; totally,...
7Old English-espossessive marker, indicating that an object...
8Proto-Germanic-asused in formation of adverbs
9Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
10Proto-Indo-European-ess
11Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

via English So

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSoA Mon-Khmer-speaking people of Laos and Thailand;...
2EnglishSolThe Sun, the star orbited by the Earth
3Old Frenchsolalone; sol; Old French coin
4Latinsolidumsolid
5Latinsolidussolid; A solidus: a Roman ~23-carat gold coin...
6Proto-Italicsoliðos
7Proto-Indo-Europeansolh₂-i-dʰ-o-sentire
8Proto-Indo-Europeansolh₂-whole

via English hot

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhotHaving a high temperature; Causing the air to be...
2Middle Englishhothot
3Old Englishhāthot, fervent, fervid, fierce
4Old Englishhātanto promise; to command, promise; to command, call...
5Hungarian-anAdded to an adjective to create an adverb; Added...
6HungarianUsed to form the third-person singular indicative...
7Proto-Uralic-i
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -osEvery word from Old English -esEvery word from Old English ealles
not-so-hot — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer