Archaic adverb used to refer to something in a vague or indirect manner, similar to 'such and such' or 'so-and-so'. Not used in modern Japanese; replaced by expressions like しかじか or なになに.
In old documents, it is written 'there was such and such a matter'.
Archaic kanji spelling without the repetition mark.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the spelling uses the kanji 然, which is conventionally associated with the meaning 'so' or 'thus'.