SAYNE

SAY

Say, obs. imp. of See.

Definition: Saw. Chaucer.

Say, n. Etym: [Aphetic form of assay.]

1. Trial by sample; assay; sample; specimen; smack. [Obs.] if those principal works of God . . . be but certain tastes and saus, as if were, of that final benefit. Hooker. Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes. Shak.

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, v. t.

Definition: To try; to assay. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Say, n. Etym: [OE. saie, F. saie, fr. L. saga, equiv. to sagum, sagus, a coarse woolen mantle; cf. Gr. Sagum.]

1. A kind of silk or satin. [Obs.] Thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord! Shak.

2. A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth. [Obs.] His garment neither was of silk nor say. Spenser.

Say, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Said, contracted from sayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Saying.] Etym: [OE. seggen, seyen, siggen, sayen, sayn, AS. secgan; akin to OS. seggian, D. zeggen, LG. seggen, OHG. sag, G. sagen, Icel. segja, Sw. säga, Dan. sige, Lith. sakyti; cf. OL. insece teil, relate, Gr. 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. Shak.

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 Shak. 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 Shak. 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, v. i.

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

Say, n. Etym: [From Say, v. t.; cf. Saw a saying.]

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

28 March 2024

HUDDLED

(adjective) crowded or massed together; “give me...your huddled masses”; “the huddled sheep turned their backs against the wind”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

coffee icon