Where does “hoe so” come from?

hoe so (Middle English) comes from Old English swā, from Proto-West Germanic swā, from Proto-Germanic swa, from Proto-Germanic swē, from Proto-Indo-European swē — self (reflexive pronoun).

Ancestry of “hoe so”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishswāso
2Proto-West Germanicswāso, thus, in this manner; like, similar to; just...
3Proto-Germanicswaso, thus, in this manner
4Proto-Germanicswēlike, similar to; just like, in the same manner...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswēself (reflexive pronoun)
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swa →