so that

English

Etymology

From Middle English so that, so þat, sa þat, swo þat, swa þat, from Old English swā þæt, equivalent to so +‎ that. Cognate with Saterland Frisian sodät, West Frisian sadat, Dutch zodat, German sodaß, sodass.

Conjunction

so that

Indicates purpose; in order that, with the result that.
He must die so that others might live.
- 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M. Hill Co., OCLC 297099816:
  He seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came on the Tin Woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf's head from its body, so that it immediately died.
Indicates purpose; in such a way that, with the intent that.
He tied a complex knot so that others would find it hard to undo.
- 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart; Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, OCLC 20230794, page 01:
  The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.

Usage notes

“So that” prefaces a subordinate clause to show purpose or to give an explanation. It demonstrates a correlation between an antecedent action and an intended consequent. In a clause 1 “so that” clause2 format, the first clause represents an antecedent proposition and the second clause constitutes a consequence/effect. In a “So that” clause 1 [comma], clause 2 format, the first clause is the intended consequent and the second clause is the antecedent proposition.

Synonyms

in order that
that (conjunction)

Related terms

in order
in order for
in order to

Translations

in order to

Arabic: حَتَّى‎ (ar) (ḥattā)
Belarusian: каб (kab)
Bengali: যাতে (ĵate)
Bikol Central: tanganing (bcl)
Catalan: perquè (ca) (+ subjunctive), (colloquial Valencian) per a que (ca) (+ subjunctive)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 以便 (zh) (yǐbiàn), 為了／为了 (zh) (wèile)
Czech: aby (cs)
Dutch: zodat (nl)
Esperanto: por ke (+ jussive), tiel ke
Finnish: jotta (fi) (in order that); niin, että (with the result that)
French: de sorte que (fr), pour que (fr) (+ subjunctive), afin que (fr) (+ subjunctive), afin de (fr) (+ infinitive)
Middle French: affin que
German: damit (de), sodass (de)
Hebrew: כדי ש-‎ (k’dey she-), (formal) על מנת ש-‎ (he) (‘al menát she-)
Hindi: ताकि (hi) (tāki)
Hungarian: hogy (hu), azért, hogy
Icelandic: þannig að
Indonesian: agar (id), supaya (id)
Ingrian: jot, jos, eik
Irish: i riocht is go, ar nós go, sa chaoi go
Italian: cosicché (it), perché (it)
Japanese: ...ために (ja) (...tame ni)
Khmer: ដើម្បី (km) (daəmbəy)
Latin: ut (la) (+ subjunctive)
Latvian: tāpēc, tāpēc ka
Malay:
Jawi: اݢر‎, سوڤايا‎
Rumi: agar (ms), supaya
Ngazidja Comorian: ili (+ subjunctive)
Polish: aby (pl), żeby (pl)
Portuguese: para que n, de modo que
Russian: так что (ru) (tak što), что́бы (ru) (štóby), чтоб (ru) (štob), да́бы (ru) (dáby) (archaic, poetic)
Scottish Gaelic: air chor 's gu
Slovak: aby
Spanish: para que (es) (+ subjunctive), de modo que (+ subjunctive), de manera que
Swedish: så (sv), så att
Tok Pisin: olsem na
Ukrainian: щоб (uk) (ščob), що́би (ščóby), аби́ (uk) (abý)
Volapük: dat (vo)
West Frisian: sadat, sa't
Yiddish: בכדי‎ (bikhdéy)

in such a way that, with the intent that

Finnish: siten, että (in such a way that); jotta (fi) (with the intent that)

References

so that at OneLook Dictionary Search
so that in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

Shatto, atshot, shotta