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Webster 1913 Edition

Saw

Saw

(sa̤)
,
imp.
of
See
.

Saw

,
Noun.
[OE.
sawe
, AS. sagu; akin to
secgan
to say. See
Say
,
Verb.
T.
and cf.
Saga
.]
1.
Something said; speech; discourse.
[Obs.]
“To hearken all his sawe.”
Chaucer.
2.
A saying; a proverb; a maxim.
His champions are the prophets and apostles,
His weapons holy
saws
of sacred writ.
Shakespeare
3.
Dictate; command; decree.
[Obs.]
[Love] rules the creatures by his powerful
saw
.
Spenser.

Saw

,
Noun.
[OE.
sawe
, AS.
sage
; akin to D.
zaag
, G.
säge
, OHG.
sega
,
saga
, Dan.
sav
, Sw.
såg
, Icel.
sög
, L.
secare
to cut,
securis
ax,
secula
sickle. Cf.
Scythe
,
Sickle
,
Section
,
Sedge
.]
An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood, iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel, with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing.
☞ Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound.
Band saw
,
Crosscut saw
, etc.
See under
Band
,
Crosscut
, etc.
–
Circular saw
,
a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its periphery, and revolved on an arbor.
–
Saw bench
,
a bench or table with a flat top for for sawing, especially with a circular saw which projects above the table.
–
Saw file
,
a three-cornered file, such as is used for sharpening saw teeth.
–
Saw frame
,
the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the saw, or gang of saws, is held.
–
Saw gate
,
a saw frame.
–
Saw gin
,
the form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in which the cotton fibers are drawn, by the teeth of a set of revolving circular saws, through a wire grating which is too fine for the seeds to pass.
–
Saw grass
(Bot.)
,
any one of certain cyperaceous plants having the edges of the leaves set with minute sharp teeth, especially the
Cladium Mariscus
of Europe, and the
Cladium effusum
of the Southern United States. Cf.
Razor grass
, under
Razor
.
–
Saw log
,
a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber.
–
Saw mandrel
,
a mandrel on which a circular saw is fastened for running.
–
Saw pit
,
a pit over which timbor is sawed by two men, one standing below the timber and the other above.
Mortimer.
–
Saw sharpener
(Zool.)
,
the great titmouse; – so named from its harsh call note.
[Prov. Eng.]
–
Saw whetter
(Zool.)
,
the marsh titmouse (
Parus palustris
); – so named from its call note.
[Prov. Eng.]
–
Scroll saw
,
a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge, stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved outlines; also, a machine in which such a saw is worked by foot or power.

Saw

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Sawed
;
p. p.
Sawed
or
Sawn
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sawing
.]
1.
To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw;
as, to
saw
timber or marble
.
2.
To form by cutting with a saw;
as, to
saw
boards or planks, that is, to saw logs or timber into boards or planks; to
saw
shingles; to
saw
out a panel
.
3.
Also used figuratively;
as, to
saw
the air
.

Saw

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To use a saw; to practice sawing;
as, a man
saws
well
.
2.
To cut, as a saw;
as, the saw or mill
saws
fast
.
3.
To be cut with a saw;
as, the timber
saws
smoothly
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Saw

SAW

, pret. of see.

SAW

,
Noun.
[See the Verb.]
1.
A cutting instrument consisting of a blade or thin plate of iron or steel, with one edge dentated or toothed.
2.
A saying; proverb; maxim; decree. Obs. [See Say.]

SAW

,
Verb.
T.
pret. sawed; pp. sawed or sawn. [L. seco;]
1.
To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw timber or marble.
2.
To form by cutting with a saw; as, to saw boards or planks, that is, to saw timber into boards or planks.

SAW

, v.i.
1.
To use a saw; to practice sawing; as, a man saws well.
2.
To cut with a saw; as, the mill saws fast or well.
3.
To be cut with a saw; as, the timber saws smooth.

Definition 2024

Saw

Saw

See also: saw, SAW, sAw, and s'aw

English

Noun

Saw ‎(plural Saws)

  1. (slang, African American Vernacular) A Bahamian.
    • 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper Perennial (2000), page 154:
      Since Tea Cake and Janie had friended with the Bahaman workers in the ’Glades, they, the “Saws,” had been gradually drawn into the American crowd.

saw

saw

See also: Saw, SAW, sAw, and s'aw

English

Noun

saw ‎(plural saws)

  1. A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard substances, in particular wood or metal
  2. A musical saw.
  3. A sawtooth wave.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

saw ‎(third-person singular simple present saws, present participle sawing, simple past sawed, past participle sawed or sawn)

  1. (transitive) To cut (something) with a saw.
    1611, Bible (KJV), Hebrews 11:37:
    They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
  2. (intransitive) To make a motion back and forth similar to cutting something with a saw.
    The fiddler sawed away at his instrument.
  3. (intransitive) To be cut with a saw.
    The timber saws smoothly.
  4. (transitive) To form or produce (something) by cutting with a saw.
    to saw boards or planks (i.e. to saw logs or timber into boards or planks)
    to saw shingles; to saw out a panel
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English sawe, from Old English sagu, saga ‎(“story, tale, saying, statement, report, narrative, tradition”), from Proto-Germanic *sagō, *sagǭ ‎(“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷe-, *skʷē- ‎(“to tell, talk”). Cognate with Dutch sage ‎(“saga”), German Sage ‎(“legend, saga, tale, fable”), Danish sagn ‎(“legend”), Norwegian soga ‎(“story”), Icelandic saga ‎(“story, tale, history”). More at saga, say.

Noun

saw ‎(plural saws)

  1. (obsolete) Something spoken; speech, discourse.
  2. (often old saw) A saying or proverb.
  3. (obsolete) Opinion, idea, belief; by thy ~, in your opinion; commune ~, common opinion; common knowledge; on no ~, by no means.
    • Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden
      Þe more comoun sawe is þat Remus was i-slawe for he leep ouer þe newe walles of Rome.
  4. (obsolete) Proposal, suggestion; possibility.
    • Earl of Toulouse
      All they assentyd to the sawe; They thoght he spake reson and lawe.
  5. (obsolete) Dictate; command; decree.
    • Spenser
      [Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:saying
Translations

Etymology 3

Verb

saw

  1. simple past tense of see

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: place · give · ever · #156: saw · things · left · part

Anagrams

Atong (India)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sʰaw/

Adjective

saw

  1. rotten

Kurdish

Noun

saw ?

  1. terror
  2. horror

Scots

Pronunciation

  • (Doric and most Southern Scots dialects) IPA(key): /sa/
  • (Central and some Southern Scots dialects) IPA(key): /sɔ/

Verb

saw

  1. (South Scots) simple past tense of sei
  2. (North Scots and Central Scots) simple past tense of see

Zhuang

Etymology

Cognate with Lao ສື ‎(sư̄), Thai สือ ‎(sʉ̌ʉ).

Noun

saw ‎(Sawndip forms ⿰書史)

  1. script (writing system)
  2. Chinese character
  3. book

Derived terms

  • daehsaw
  • Sawcuengh
  • sawgoek
  • sawgun, Sawgun
  • Sawndip
  • sawva
  • sawveh

Etymology

A saw—a tool

Noun from Middle English sawe, from Old English saga, sagu ‎(“saw”), from Proto-Germanic *sagô, *sagō ‎(“saw”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‎(“to cut”). Cognate with West Frisian seage ‎(“saw”), Dutch zaag ‎(“saw”), German Säge ‎(“saw”), Danish sav ‎(“saw”), Swedish såg ‎(“saw”), Icelandic sög ‎(“saw”), and through Indo-European, with Latin secō ‎(“cut”).

Verb from Middle English sawen.

Pronunciation

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