seen

See also: sen, Seen, and -seen

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: sēn, IPA^(key): /siːn/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (UK, dialectal) enPR: sĭn, IPA^(key): /sɪn/
• Homophones: scene, sin (UK, dialectal)
• Rhymes: -iːn, -ɪn (UK, dialectal)

Etymology 1

Morphologically see +‎ -n.

Verb

seen

1. past participle of see

   Justice must be seen to be done.

2. (nonstandard, dialectal) simple past of see; saw.

   I seen it with my own eyes.

   • 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 156:

     "Tut, tut, Sir Benjimen," said Bill, "stir up your memory, sir; cast your eye over them felons in the dock, and tell the Court how you seen them steal the bag."

3. (Jamaica) Understood; comprehended.

   Everything irie, seen?

Antonyms

• unseen

Derived terms

• aforeseen
• afterseen
• beseen
• seenness
• seenzone
• underseen

Descendants

• → Persian: سین (sin)

Etymology 2

From Arabic سِين (sīn).

Noun

seen (plural seens)

1. The letter س in the Arabic script.

Anagrams

• sene, Sene, snee, eens, esne, Nees

Alemannic German

Etymology

From Middle High German sagen, from Old High German sagen.

Verb

seen

1. (Issime) to say

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *seeni. Cognate of Finnish sieni and Latvian sẽne.

Noun

seen (genitive seene, partitive seent)

1. mushroom
2. fungus

Declension

Declension of seen (ÕS type 13/suur, length gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		seen	seened
accusative	nom.
	gen.	seene
genitive			seente
partitive		seent	seeni
illative		seende seenesse	seentesse seenisse
inessive		seenes	seentes seenis
elative		seenest	seentest seenist
allative		seenele	seentele seenile
adessive		seenel	seentel seenil
ablative		seenelt	seentelt seenilt
translative		seeneks	seenteks seeniks
terminative		seeneni	seenteni
essive		seenena	seentena
abessive		seeneta	seenteta
comitative		seenega	seentega

Finnish

Noun

seen

1. genitive singular of see

Ingrian

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈseːn/, [ˈs̠eːn]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈseːn/, [ˈʃe̝ːn]
• Rhymes: -eːn
• Hyphenation: seen

Noun

seen

1. alternative form of seeni

Declension

Declension of seen (type 5/keeli, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	seen	seenet
genitive	seenen	seeniin, seenilöin
partitive	seentä, seent	seeniä, seenilöjä
illative	seenee	seenii, seenilöihe
inessive	seenees	seeniis, seenilöis
elative	seenest	seenist, seenilöist
allative	seenelle	seenille, seenilöille
adessive	seeneel	seeniil, seenilöil
ablative	seenelt	seenilt, seenilöilt
translative	seeneks	seeniks, seenilöiks
essive	seenennä, seeneen	seeninnä, seenilöinnä, seeniin, seenilöin
exessive1)	seenent	seenint, seenilöint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

Luxembourgish

Verb

seen

1. second-person singular imperative of seenen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• se, sein, sen, sien
• seo, seon, soe, son, suen (chiefly early West Midland)
• zi (Kent)

Etymology

From Old English sēon, from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːn/
• IPA^(key): /søːn/, /zøːn/ (West Midland)

Verb

seen (third-person singular simple present seeth, present participle seynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative saugh, past participle seen)

1. To see; to perceive with the eyes:
   1. To observe, verify, or witness visually.
      • c. 1390, “Edward þe þridde”, in Sowlehele (Vernon Lyrics, Bodleian MS. Eng. poet. a. 1)‎^[1], Worcestershire, folio 411, recto; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 10 January 2019:

        Now is þat ſchip. þat bar þe flour. / Selden seȝe. and sone foꝛȝete.

        Now that ship which bore the acme is / Rarely seen and quickly forgotten.

   2. To look at (study or monitor visually).
   3. To see indirect evidence of.
   4. To have sight; to be able to see.
2. To understand or perceive:
   1. To see a mental picture of (especially a dream or vision)
      • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[2], published c. 1410, Apocalips 6:12, folio 119, verso, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

        ⁊ I ſai whãne he hadde openyd the ſıxte ſeel .· / ⁊ lo a greet erþe mouyng was maad / ⁊ þe ſũne was maad blak as a ſak of heire .· and al þe moone was maad as blood

        "And I saw when he'd opened the sixth seal: there was a massive earthquake, the sun was made black like haircloth, and the whole moon became like blood."

   2. To consider or ponder; to mentally observe.
   3. To comprehend or recognise the inner nature of.
   4. To recognise an opportunity.
   5. (in the passive voice) To appear or seem.
3. To take care of or look after:
   1. To care for or protect.
   2. To see to; to ensure or guarantee.
   3. To meet or visit (someone).
4. To experience or undergo (other than specifically visually).
5. To attempt to determine; to inquire about.

Usage notes

• The conjugation of this verb is highly variable; the forms given below are only a representative selection.

Conjugation

Conjugation of seen (strong class 5)

infinitive	(to) seen, see
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	see	saugh, seigh, saw, sey
2nd-person singular	seest	sawe1, seye1
3rd-person singular	seeth	saugh, seigh, saw, sey
subjunctive singular	see	sawe2, seye2
imperative singular		—
plural3	seen, see	sawen, sawe, seyen, seye
imperative plural	seeth, see	—
participles	seynge, seende	seen, see, yseen, ysee

¹ Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or saughest, seighest, sawest, seyest.
² Later replaced by the indicative.
³ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: see
• Middle Scots: se, see, sie
  • Scots: see, sei
• Yola: zee, zie, ze, zey

References

• “sẹ̄n, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “see, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
• Rettger, James Frederick (1934), “The Development of Ablaut in the Strong Verbs of the East Midland Dialects of Middle English”, in Language (Language Dissertations; 16)‎^[3], volume 10, number 4, Philadelphia: Linguistic Society of America, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, part 2 (Special and Irregular Verbs), chapter 5 (Verbs of Class V), pages 145-148.

Scots

Verb

seen

1. past participle of see