say

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See also: Say, sầy, sẩy, sậy, şay, and saþ

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: sā, IPA(key): /seɪ/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, from Old English seċġan (“to say, speak”), from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-h₁-yé-, a suffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ- (“to tell, talk”). Cognate with West Frisian sizze (“to say”), Dutch zeggen (“to say”), German sagen (“to say”), Danish sige (“to say”), Norwegian Bokmål si (“to say”), Norwegian Nynorsk seia (“to say”), Swedish säga (“to say”).

The adverb and interjection are from the verb.

Verb[edit]

say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle said)

  1. (transitive) To pronounce.
    Please say your name slowly and clearly.
  2. (transitive) To recite.
    Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
  3. (transitive) To tell, either verbally or in writing.
    He said he would be here tomorrow.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎[1]:
      She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      I want to say I’m sorry for yesterday. - It’s okay, Anna.
      Audio (US)
      		(file)
  4. (transitive) To indicate in a written form.
    The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.
  5. (impersonal, transitive) 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.
  6. (informal, imperative, transitive) Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.
    A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.
    Say he refuses. What do we do then?
    Say your family is starving and you don't have any money, is it ok to steal some food?
    • 1984, Martin Amis, Money: a suicide note
      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 […]
  7. (intransitive) To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
    • c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:
      You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge
    • {{RQ:Milton Eikonoklastes|passage=To this argument we shall soon have said; for what concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household privacies?
  8. (transitive, informal, of a possession, especially money) To bet as a wager on an outcome; by extension, used to express belief in an outcome by the speaker.
    • 2005, Ian McEwan, Saturday, page 192:
      'My fifty pounds says three months after the invasion there'll be a free press in Iraq, and unmonitored internet access too.'
Synonyms[edit]
See also: Thesaurus:utter
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from say (verb)
Translations[edit]
to say — see tell
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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun[edit]

say (plural says)

  1. A chance to speak; the right or power to influence or make a decision.
    • 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.
    • 2019 February 8, Olarn, Kocha; Regan, Helen, “This princess could be the next prime minister of Thailand”, in CNN International Edition‎[2], Cable News Network, retrieved 2019-02-08:
      He has consolidated the military's role in politics through an army-drafted 2017 constitution widely seen as designed to prevent Pheu Thai from returning to power and ensuring a continuing say for the army.
    • 2019 March 22, Tanakasempipat, Patpicha; Thepgumpanat, Panarat, “Junta chief croons, ousted PM says 'we will win' in Thai election battle”, in Reuters‎[3], Reuters, retrieved 2019-03-23:
      Sunday’s general election has been cast as a high-stakes contest between democracy and military rule, but critics say a new army-backed constitution gives junta-appointed officials a large say in the next government.
Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

say (not comparable)

  1. For example; let us assume.
    Pick a color you think they'd like, say, peach.
    He was driving pretty fast, say, fifty miles per hour.

Interjection[edit]

say

  1. (colloquial) Used to gain someone's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion
    Say, what did you think about the movie?
Synonyms[edit]
  • (used to gain attention): hey

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum (“military cloak”).

Noun[edit]

say (countable and uncountable, plural says)

  1. A type of fine cloth similar to serge.

Etymology 3[edit]

Aphetic form of assay.

Verb[edit]

say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle sayed)

  1. To try; to assay.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Noun[edit]

say (plural says)

  1. Trial by sample; assay; specimen.
    • (Can we date this quote by Hooker and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      If those principal works of God […] be but certain tastes and says, as if were, of that final benefit.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene iii]:
      Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes.
  2. Tried quality; temper; proof.
    • (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      He found a sword of better say.
  3. Essay; trial; attempt.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Etymology 4[edit]

Noun[edit]

say (plural says)

  1. (Scotland) A strainer for milk.

Anagrams[edit]

Azerbaijani[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Deverbal of saymaq.

Noun[edit]

say (definite accusative sayı, plural saylar)

  1. number, quantity, count
    Synonyms: ədəd, rəqəm
  2. (grammar) numeral
  3. (colloquial) value, importance

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Turkic *say.

Noun[edit]

say (definite accusative sayı, plural saylar)

  1. shallow, shoal

Declension[edit]

Declension of say
singular plural
nominative say
 saylar
definite accusative sayı
 sayları
dative saya
 saylara
locative sayda
 saylarda
ablative saydan
 saylardan
definite genitive sayın
 sayların
Possessive forms of say
nominative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayım saylarım
sənin (“your”) sayın sayların
onun (“his/her/its”) sayı sayları
bizim (“our”) sayımız saylarımız
sizin (“your”) sayınız saylarınız
onların (“their”) sayı or sayları sayları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayımı saylarımı
sənin (“your”) sayını saylarını
onun (“his/her/its”) sayını saylarını
bizim (“our”) sayımızı saylarımızı
sizin (“your”) sayınızı saylarınızı
onların (“their”) sayını or saylarını saylarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayıma saylarıma
sənin (“your”) sayına saylarına
onun (“his/her/its”) sayına saylarına
bizim (“our”) sayımıza saylarımıza
sizin (“your”) sayınıza saylarınıza
onların (“their”) sayına or saylarına saylarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayımda saylarımda
sənin (“your”) sayında saylarında
onun (“his/her/its”) sayında saylarında
bizim (“our”) sayımızda saylarımızda
sizin (“your”) sayınızda saylarınızda
onların (“their”) sayında or saylarında saylarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayımdan saylarımdan
sənin (“your”) sayından saylarından
onun (“his/her/its”) sayından saylarından
bizim (“our”) sayımızdan saylarımızdan
sizin (“your”) sayınızdan saylarınızdan
onların (“their”) sayından or saylarından saylarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (“my”) sayımın saylarımın
sənin (“your”) sayının saylarının
onun (“his/her/its”) sayının saylarının
bizim (“our”) sayımızın saylarımızın
sizin (“your”) sayınızın saylarınızın
onların (“their”) sayının or saylarının saylarının

Crimean Tatar[edit]

Noun[edit]

say

  1. shallow place, island

Declension[edit]

Declension of say
nominative say
genitive saynıñ
dative sayğa
accusative saynı
locative sayda
ablative saydan

References[edit]

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[4], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

say

  1. Alternative form of assay

Portuguese[edit]

Verb[edit]

say

  1. Obsolete spelling of sai

Tatar[edit]

Noun[edit]

say

  1. area covered with stones

Turkish[edit]

Verb[edit]

say

  1. second-person singular imperative of saymak

Vietnamese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Vietic *p-riː (“drunk”); cognate with Muong khay, Arem /pariː/.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

say • (𫑹)

  1. to be drunk; to be inebriated
  2. (by extension) to be (car, sea, etc.) sick
  3. (figuratively) to be enamoured of; to take a deep interest in

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms

Adjective[edit]

say

  1. deep (of sleep); fast asleep
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