Etimology
From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, from Old English seċġan (“to say, speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, 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”), Low German seggen (“to say”), Dutch zeggen (“to say”), German sagen (“to say”), Danish sige (“to say”), Norwegian Bokmål si (“to say”), Norwegian Nynorsk seia (“to say”), Swedish säga (“to say”), Yiddish זאָגן (zogn, “to say; to tell”). The adverb and interjection are from the verb.
verb
say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle said)
(transitive) To pronounce.
(transitive) To recite.
(transitive) To tell, either verbally or in writing.
(transitive) To indicate in a written form.
(impersonal, transitive) To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact.
(informal, imperative, transitive) Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.
(intransitive) To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
(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.
Examples
Please say your name slowly and clearly.
Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
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.
He said he would be here tomorrow.
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.
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.
I want to say I’m sorry for yesterday. — It’s okay, Anna. Audio
Audio
The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.
They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do."
They say that Hope is happiness; But genuine Love must prize the past.
It is said, a bargain cannot be set aside upon inadequacy only.
It’s said that fifteen wagon loads of ready-made clothes for the Virginia troops came to, and stay in, town to-night.
A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.
Say he refuses. What do we do then?
Say your family is starving and you don't have any money, is it okay to steal some food?
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 […]
You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge
To this argument we shall soon have said; for what concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household privacies?
'My fifty pounds says three months after the invasion there'll be a free press in Iraq, and unmonitored internet access too.'
Related words
synonyms
and so say all of us
as I was saying
as the saying goes
as they say
as who should say
before you can say Jack Robinson
before you can say knife
besay
can we say
dare say
dare-say
dare-saying
dessay
do as I say and not as I do
don't say gay
doomsaying
do you know what I'm saying
easy for you to say
enough said
final say
foresay
forsay
gainsay
go without saying
have a say
have to say for oneself
how do you say … in English
how say you
how you say
I'd say
if I do say so myself
if I may say so
if I say so myself
if you don't mind me saying
if you say so
if you see something, say something
I hear you say
I'll say
I must say
I said what I said
I say
it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right
it goes without saying
it's not what you say but how you say it
just saying
let's not and say we did
let's say
mean to say
nay-say
need I say more
needless to say
never say die
never-say-die
never say never
not to say
or should I say
oversay
please say that again
sad to say
said no one ever
saith
say aah
say again
say boo to a goose
say bo to a goose
say cheese
sayer
sayeth
say goodbye
say grace
say hello to my little friend
saying
say it all
say la vee
say less
say no
say no more
say none
say nothing
say one's piece
say on pay
say-so
say that
say the quiet part loud
say the quiet part out loud
say the word
say to oneself
say uncle
say wha
say what
say what you like
say when
say word one
say yes
shall I say
shall we say
so they say
so to say
strange to say
sufficed to say
suffice it to say
suffice to say
that is to say
that's saying something
that's what he said
the deuce you say
the devil you say
the dickens you say
the hell you say
there is much to be said
there isn't any easy way to say this
they say
those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it
though I say so myself
to say nothing of
to say the least
unsay
what can I say
what do you say
what say you
what say you
what you saying
withsay
wouldn't you say
yea-say
you can say that again
you can't say fairer than that
you don't say
you know what I'm saying
you know what they say
you were saying
noun
say (plural says)
A chance to speak; the right or power to influence or make a decision.
Examples
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.
He has consolidated the military's role in politics through an army-drafted 2017 constitution widely seen as designed to prevent Pheu Thai from returning to power and ensuring a continuing say for the army.
Sunday’s general election has been cast as a high-stakes contest between democracy and military rule, but critics say a new army-backed constitution gives junta-appointed officials a large say in the next government.
adverb
say (not comparable)
For example; let us assume.
Examples
Pick a color you think they'd like, say, peach.
He was driving pretty fast, say, fifty miles per hour.
He was a very old man, and was heavy, say about 250 pounds.
interjection
say
(colloquial) Used to gain someone's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion
Examples
Say, what did you think about the movie?
Related words
synonyms
(used to gain attention): hey
Etimology
From Middle French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum (“military cloak”).
noun
say (countable and uncountable, plural says)
A type of fine cloth similar to serge.
Examples
Per.[igot] VVell decked in a frocke of gray, / Will.[y] hey ho, gray is greet, / Per. And in a kirtle of greene ſaye, / Will. the greene is for maydens meete.
All in a kirtle of diſcolourd ſay / He clothed was […]
Etimology
Aphetic form of assay.
verb
say (third-person singular simple present says, present participle saying, simple past and past participle sayed)
To try; to assay.
Examples
I, that had sayed on one of his customers sutes.
noun
say (plural says)
Trial by sample; assay; specimen.
Tried quality; temper; proof.
Essay; trial; attempt.
Examples
If those principal works of God […] be but certain tastes and says, as if were, of that final benefit.
Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes.
He found a sword of better say.
This fellow, Captaine, Will come, in time, to be a great distiller, And giue a say […] at the philosophers stone.
noun
say (plural says)
(Scotland) A strainer for milk.