Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Say

Say

(sā)
,
obs.
imp.
of
See
.
Saw.
Chaucer.

Say

(sā)
,
Noun.
[Aphetic form of
assay
.]
1.
Trial by sample; assay; sample; specimen; smack.
[Obs.]
If those principal works of God . . . be but certain tastes and
says
, as it were, of that final benefit.
Hooker.
Thy tongue some
say
of breeding breathes.
Shakespeare
2.
Tried quality; temper; proof.
[Obs.]
He found a sword of better
say
.
Spenser.
3.
Essay; trial; attempt.
[Obs.]
To give a say at
,
to attempt.
B. Jonson.

Say

,
Verb.
T.
To try; to assay.
[Obs.]
B. Jonson.

Say

,
Noun.
[OE.
saie
, F.
saie
, fr. L.
saga
, equiv. to
sagum
,
sagus
, a coarse woolen mantle; cf. Gr.
σάγος
. See
Sagum
.]
1.
A kind of silk or satin.
[Obs.]
Thou
say
, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord!
Shakespeare
2.
A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth.
[Obs.]
His garment neither was of silk nor
say
.
Spenser.

Say

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Said
(sĕd)
, contracted from sayed;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Saying
.]
[OE.
seggen
,
seyen
,
siggen
,
sayen
,
sayn
, AS.
secgan
; akin to OS.
seggian
, D.
zeggen
, LG.
seggen
, OHG.
sagēn
, G.
sagen
, Icel.
segja
, Sw.
säga
, Dan.
sige
, Lith.
sakyti
; cf. OL.
insece
tell, relate, Gr.
ἔννεπε
(for
ἐν-σεπε
),
ἔσπετε
. Cf.
Saga
,
Saw
a saying.]
1.
To utter or express in words; to tell; to speak; to declare;
as, he
said
many wise things
.
Arise, and
say
how thou camest here.
Shakespeare
2.
To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; to pronounce;
as, to
say
a lesson
.
Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated
In what thou hadst to
say
?
Shakespeare
After which shall be
said
or sung the following hymn.
Bk. of Com. Prayer.
3.
To announce as a decision or opinion; to state positively; to assert; hence, to form an opinion upon; to be sure about; to be determined in mind as to.
But what it is, hard is to
say
.
Milton.
4.
To mention or suggest as an estimate, hypothesis, or approximation; hence, to suppose; – in the imperative, followed sometimes by the subjunctive;
as, he had,
say
fifty thousand dollars; the fox had run,
say
ten miles
.
Say
, for nonpayment that the debt should double,
Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble?
Shakespeare
It is said
, or
They say
,
it is commonly reported; it is rumored; people assert or maintain.
–
That is to say
,
that is; in other words; otherwise.

Say

,
Verb.
I.
To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
You have
said
; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge.
Shakespeare
To this argument we shall soon have
said
; for what concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household privacies?
Milton.

Say

,
Noun.
[From
Say
,
Verb.
T.
; cf.
Saw
a saying.]
A speech; something said; an expression of opinion; a current story; a maxim or proverb.
[Archaic or Colloq.]
He no sooner said out his
say
, but up rises a cunning snap.
L’Estrange.
That strange palmer's boding
say
,
That fell so ominous and drear
Full on the object of his fear.
Sir W. Scott.

Webster 1828 Edition

Say

SAY

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. said, contracted from sayed.
1.
To speak; to utter in words; as, he said nothing; he said many things; he says not a word. Say a good word for me.
It is observable that although this word is radically synonymous with speak and tell, yet the uses are applications of these words are different. Thus we say, to speak an oration, to tell a story; but in these phrases, say cannot be used. Yet to say a lesson is good English, though not very elegant. We never use the phrases to say a sermon or discourse, to say an argument, to say a speech, to say testimony.
A very general use of say is to introduce a relation, narration or recital, either of the speaker himself or of something said or done or to be done by another. Thus Adam said, this is bone of my bone; Noah said, blessed be the Lord God of Shem. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Say to the cities of Judah, behold your God. I cannot say what I should do in a similar case. Say thus precedes a sentence. But it is perhaps impracticable to reduce the peculiar and appropriate uses of say, speak and tell, to general rules. They can be learned only by observation.
2.
To declare. Gen. 38.
3.
To utter; to pronounce.
Say now Shibboleth. Judges 12.
4.
To utter, as a command.
God said, let there be light. Gen. 1.
5.
To utter, as a promise. Luke 23.
6.
To utter, as a question or answer. Mark 11.
7.
To affirm; to teach. Matt. 17.
8.
To confess. Luke 17.
9.
To testify. Acts 26.
10.
To argue; to allege by way of argument.
After all that can be said against a thing -
11.
To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; as, to say a lesson.
12.
To pronounce; to recite without singing. Then shall be said or sung as follows.
13.
To report; as in the phrases, it is said, they say.
14.
To answer; to utter by way of reply; to tell.
Say, Stella, feel you no content, reflecting on a life well spent?
[Note - This verb is not properly intransitive. In the phrase, 'as when we say, Plato is no fool,' the last clause is the object after the verb; that is, 'we say what follows.' If this verb is properly intransitive in any case, it is in the phrase, 'that is to say,' but in such cases, the subsequent clause is the object of the verb, being that which is said, uttered or related.]

SAY

,
Noun.
A speech; something said. [In popular use, but not elegant.]

SAY

,
Noun.
[for assay.]
1.
A sample. Obs.
2.
Trial by sample. Obs.

SAY

,
Noun.
A thin silk. Obs.

SAY

,

Definition 2024

Say

Say

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

Turkish

Proper noun

Say

  1. A male given name

say

say

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

English

Verb

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. 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:
      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.
  4. To indicate in a written form.
    The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.‎
  5. (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.
  6. (informal, imperative) Let's say; 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?‎
    • 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.
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge.
    • John Milton (1608-1674)
      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
  • See Wikisaurus:utter
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

say ‎(plural says)

  1. One's stated opinion or input into a discussion or 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.

References

  • say in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • say in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology 2

Grammaticalization of the verb. In the case of the conjunction, it could be considered an elision of "Let's say that" and for the "for example" sense of "Let's say"

Adverb

say ‎(not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) Used to gain one's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion
    Say, what did you think about the movie?
  2. 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.
Synonyms
  • (used to gain attention): hey

Conjunction

say

  1. (informal) Used to introduce a hypothetical
    Say your family is starving and you don't have any money, is it ok to steal some food?

Etymology 3

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

Noun

say ‎(uncountable)

  1. 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 […]

Etymology 4

Aphetic form of assay.

Verb

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

say ‎(plural says)

  1. Trial by sample; assay; specimen.
    • Hooker
      If those principal works of God […] be but certain tastes and says, as if were, of that final benefit.
    • Shakespeare
      Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes.
  2. Tried quality; temper; proof.
    • Spenser
      He found a sword of better say.
  3. Essay; trial; attempt.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: am · way · even · #123: say · well · many · work

Anagrams

Crimean Tatar

Noun

say

  1. shallow place, island

Declension

References

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

Portuguese

Verb

say

  1. Obsolete spelling of sai

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Adjective

say

  1. drunk, inebriated

Etymology

From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, from Old English secġan ‎(“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”), Swedish säga ‎(“to say”).

Pronunciation

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

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