so-called

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English

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Etymology

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From so +‎ called.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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so-called (not comparable)

  1. so named; commonly called.
    the so-called Ising mode
    • 1988, Ingrid Coetzee, Gerhard-Mark Van der Waal, Conservation of Culture: Changing Context and Challenges:
      Another Canadian example is that of the so-called Halfback Program initiated in the province of Ontario. With this scheme state lottery tickets with which no prizes are won retain 50% of the value of their initial cost []
    • 2010, Matty McEire, Looking for Sheville, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 78:
      ... I hadn't met any straight women at the gay bars — a few so called "fag hags" fraternizing with the boys, of course, but ...
  2. (ironic) commonly called by such a name, but false or unfitting.
    These so-called "assistants" are making our jobs harder, not easier!
    • 1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan, →OCLC, page 5:
      [] dawdling away the hours in the Park as if all the world and its millions of honest hard workers were created solely for the casual diversion of the so-called 'upper' classes, []

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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  • so-called”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
  • So-Called. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on 6 June 2016.