say
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Say
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
From Middle English seyen, seggen, from Old English secġan (“to say, speak”), from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-, *sekʷe-, *skʷē- (“to tell, talk”). Cognate with West Frisian sizze (“to say”), Dutch zeggen (“to say”), German sagen (“to say”), Swedish säga (“to say”).
Verb [edit]
say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle said)
- (transitive) To pronounce.
- Please say your name slowly and clearly.
- (transitive) To recite.
- Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
- To communicate, either verbally or in writing.
- He said he would be here tomorrow.
- To indicate in a written form.
- The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.
- (impersonal) to have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact.
- They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do."
- 1815, George Gordon Byron, The Hebrew Melodies/They say that Hope is happiness:
- They say that Hope is happiness; But genuine Love must prize the past.
- 1819, Great Britain Court of Chancery, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery, page 8:
- It is said, a bargain cannot be set aside upon inadequacy only.
- 1841, Christopher Marshall, The Knickerbocker (New-York Monthly Magazine), page 379:
- It’s said that fifteen wagon loads of ready-made clothes for the Virginia troops came to, and stay in, town to-night.
- (informal, imperative) Let's say; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.
- 1984, Martin Amis, Money: a suicide note
- A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.
- Say he refuses. What do we do then?
-
- I've followed Selina down the strip, when we're shopping, say, and she strolls on ahead, wearing sawn-off jeans and a wash-withered T-shirt...
- (intransitive) To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
- Shakespeare
- You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge.
- Milton
- To this argument we shall soon have said; for what concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household privacies?
- Shakespeare
Synonyms [edit]
- See Wikisaurus:utter
Derived terms [edit]
terms derived from say (verb)
Translations [edit]
to pronounce
|
|
to recite
to communicate verbally or in writing
|
|
to indicate in a written form
|
to have a common expression
imperative: let's say
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
References [edit]
- say in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- say in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Interjection [edit]
say
- (informal) Used to gain one's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion; hey
- Say, what did you think about the movie?
Noun [edit]
say (plural says)
- One's stated opinion or input into a discussion.
- 2004, Richard Rogers, Information politics on the Web
- Above all, however, we would like to think that there is more to be decided, after the engines and after the humans have had their says.
- 2004, Richard Rogers, Information politics on the Web
Etymology 2 [edit]
From Middle French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum (“military cloak”).
Noun [edit]
say (uncountable)
- A type of fine cloth similar to serge.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.iv:
- All in a kirtle of discolourd say / He clothed was [...].
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.iv:
Statistics [edit]
Anagrams [edit]
Crimean Tatar [edit]
Noun [edit]
say
Declension [edit]
declension of say
| nominative | say |
|---|---|
| genitive | saynıñ |
| dative | sayğa |
| accusative | saynı |
| locative | sayda |
| ablative | saydan |
References [edit]
- Useinov & Mireev Dictionary, Simferopol, Dolya, 2002 [1]
Vietnamese [edit]
Adjective [edit]
say
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English verbs
- English impersonal verbs
- English informal terms
- English interjections
- English nouns
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- 100 English basic words
- English irregular verbs
- English reporting verbs
- en:Talking
- Crimean Tatar nouns
- Vietnamese adjectives
