Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to an extent, in a way.

1832		J. Hall Legends of the West 50: It sort o’ stirs one up, to hear about old times.
1845		W.T. Porter Big Bear of Arkansas (1847) 126: His head was sorter throwd back; he was breathin’ sorter hard.
1857		Thackeray Virginians I 190: ‘You were hurt by the betting just now?’ ‘Well,’ replied the lad, ‘I am sort o’ hurt.’.
1866		C.H. Smith Bill Arp 130: There was a feller with me when I was cotch’d, and I seen him make a sorter of a sign to the captain.
1871		B. Harte ‘Dow’s Flat’ Poems 62: For a blow of his pick / Sorter caved in the side.
1882		Sportsman (Melbourne) 8 Feb. 2/5: The worthy official gazed [...] in a ‘sorter’ helpless way.
1894–5		H. Lawson ‘Going Blind’ in Roderick (1972) 176: He had a boy down with him — a ‘sorter cousin of his’.
1903		T.W.H. Crosland ‘Chocolate’ Five Notions 66: Hurry up them Quakers now; let the stuff be quality; / The tin a sorter keepsake for hisself and kids to prize.
1907		C. M’Govern By Bolo and Krag 22: I sort of reckon that the eye-opener I bought in the bar downstairs did the trick.
1920		F.S. Fitzgerald ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’ in Bodley Head Scott Fitzgerald V (1963) 87: He had to admit that Cousin Bernice was sorta dopeless.
1930		C.R. Shaw Jack-Roller 130: The landlady had two daughters, and I sort of shined up to them.
1937		P. Cheyney Dames Don’t Care (1960) 106: Paulette looks my way an’ sorta gives me the once over.
1947		W.D. Overholser Buckaroo’s Code (1948) 48: And perhaps you sort of like June Flagg?
1957		H. Simmons Corner Boy 89: The bims sorta happened to put on pressure.
1959		A. Sillitoe ‘Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’ in Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (1960) 35: He might take up running in a sort of professional way when he gets out.
1964		J. Berryman 77 Dream Songs 27: My friends,—he has been known to mourn,—I’ll die; / live you, in the most wild, kindly, green / partly forgiving wood, / sort of forever.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 30: John-John sort of blew it by [...] dumping the scalding French roast methodically down his pant leg.
1997		N. Barlay Curvy Lovebox 5: I [...] sor’a wedge in between her an’ her friend.
1998		A. Warner Sopranos 319: That we hadn’t been drinking, sort of.
2005		H. Mantel Beyond Black 200: He wouldn’t, sort of, undo his clothes and take out private bits of himself in public?