segja

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse segja, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseiːja/

  Rhymes: -eiːja

  Homophone: seigja

Verb

segja (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative sagði, supine sagt)

1. (transitive, governs the dative) to say, to tell
   • Isaiah 40 (Icelandic, English)

     Heyr, einhver segir: "Kalla þú!" Og ég svara: "Hvað skal ég kalla?" "Allt hold er gras og allur yndisleikur þess sem blóm vallarins. Grasið visnar, blómin fölna, þegar Drottinn andar á þau. Sannlega, mennirnir eru gras. Grasið visnar, blómin fölna, en orð Guðs vors stendur stöðugt eilíflega."

     A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

   Ég segi söguna á eftir.

   I'll tell the story later.

   Segðu mér eitthvað skemmtilegt.

   Tell me something interesting.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• hvað segir þú
• segja frá
• segja fyrir
• segjast

• segja til
• segja til syndanna
• segja upp

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

segja (present tense segjer, past tense sa or sagde, past participle sagt)

1. (pre-1938) alternative form of seia

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Old Norse

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”). Cognate with Old English secġan, Old Frisian sedza, sidza, sega, Old Saxon seggian, Old High German sagēn.

Verb

segja (singular past indicative sagði, plural past indicative sǫgðu, past participle sagðr)

1. to say, tell, declare

Conjugation

Conjugation of segja — active (weak class 3)

infinitive	segja
present participle	segjandi
past participle	sagr
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	segi	sagða
2nd-person singular	segir	sagðir
3rd-person singular	segir	sagði
1st-person plural	segjum	sǫgðum
2nd-person plural	segið	sǫgðuð
3rd-person plural	segja	sǫgðu
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	segja	segða
2nd-person singular	segir	segðir
3rd-person singular	segi	segði
1st-person plural	segim	segðim
2nd-person plural	segið	segðið
3rd-person plural	segi	segði
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	seg
1st-person plural	segjum
2nd-person plural	segið

Conjugation of segja — mediopassive (weak class 3)

infinitive	segjask
present participle	segjandisk
past participle	sagzk
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	segjumk	sǫgðumk
2nd-person singular	segisk	sagðisk
3rd-person singular	segisk	sagðisk
1st-person plural	segjumsk	sǫgðumsk
2nd-person plural	segizk	sǫgðuzk
3rd-person plural	segjask	sǫgðusk
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	segjumk	segðumk
2nd-person singular	segisk	segðisk
3rd-person singular	segisk	segðisk
1st-person plural	segimsk	segðimsk
2nd-person plural	segizk	segðizk
3rd-person plural	segisk	segðisk
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	segsk
1st-person plural	segjumsk
2nd-person plural	segizk

Descendants

• Danish: sige
• Faroese: siga
• Icelandic: segja

• Norwegian Bokmål: si
• Norwegian Nynorsk: seie, seia
• Swedish: säga

References

• “segja”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press