say

¹

[ sey ]

verb (used with object)

, said [sed], say·ing [sey, -ing].

1. to utter or pronounce; speak:

   What did you say? I said “Hello!”

2. to express in words; state; declare; word:

   Say it clearly and simply. It's hard to know how to say this tactfully.

3. to state as an opinion or judgment:

   I say her plan is the better one.

4. to be certain, precise, or assured about; determine:

   It is hard to say what is wrong.

5. to recite or repeat:

   to say one's prayers.

6. to report or allege; maintain:

   People say he will resign.

7. to express (a message, viewpoint, etc.), as through a literary or other artistic medium:

   a writer with something to say.

8. to indicate or show:

   What does your watch say?

9. to assume as a hypothesis or estimate:

   Let's say, for the sake of argument, that it's true.

verb (used without object)

, said [sed], say·ing [sey, -ing].

1. to speak; declare; express an opinion.

adverb

1. approximately; about:

   It's, say, 14 feet long.

2. for example:

   If you serve, say tuna fish and potato chips, it will cost much less.

noun

1. what a person says or has to say.
2. the right or opportunity to speak, decide, or exercise influence:

   to have one's say in choosing the candidate.

3. a turn to say something:

   It is now my say.

interjection

1. (used to express surprise, get attention, etc.)

say

²

[ sey ]

verb (used with object)

1. British Dialect. assay.

say

³

[ sey ]

noun

1. a thin silk or woolen fabric similar to serge, much used in the 16th century.

Say

⁴

[ sey ]

noun

1. Jean Bap·tiste [zhah, n, b, a, -, teest], 1767–1832, French economist. Compare Say's law.
2. Thomas, 1787–1834, U.S. entomologist.

say

¹

/ seɪ /

noun

1. archaic.
   a type of fine woollen fabric

say

²

/ seɪ /

verb

1. to speak, pronounce, or utter
2. also intr to express (an idea) in words; tell

   we asked his opinion but he refused to say

3. also intr; may take a clause as object to state (an opinion, fact, etc) positively; declare; affirm
4. to recite

   to say grace

5. may take a clause as object to report or allege

   they say we shall have rain today

6. may take a clause as object to take as an assumption; suppose

   let us say that he is lying

7. may take a clause as object to convey by means of artistic expression

   the artist in this painting is saying that we should look for hope

8. to make a case for

   there is much to be said for either course of action

9. usually passive to persuade or coax (someone) to do something

   If I hadn't been said by her, I wouldn't be in this fix

10. go without saying
    go without saying to be so obvious as to need no explanation
11. I say! informal.
    I say! an exclamation of surprise
12. not to say
    not to say even; and indeed
13. that is to say
    that is to say in other words; more explicitly
14. to say nothing of
    to say nothing of as well as; even disregarding

    he was warmly dressed in a shirt and heavy jumper, to say nothing of a thick overcoat

15. to say the least
    to say the least without the slightest exaggeration; at the very least

adverb

1. approximately

   there were, say, 20 people present

2. for example

   choose a number, say, four

noun

1. the right or chance to speak

   let him have his say

2. authority, esp to influence a decision

   he has a lot of say in the company's policy

3. a statement of opinion

   you've had your say, now let me have mine

interjection

1. informal.
   an exclamation to attract attention or express surprise, etc

Derived Forms

• ˈsayer, noun

Other Words From

• sayer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of say¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English seyen, seggen, Old English secgan; cognate with Dutch zeggen, German sagen, Old Norse segja; akin to saw ³

Origin of say²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English saien, sayen, shortening of assaien, assayen to assay

Origin of say³

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sai(e), a kind of serge, from Old French saie, saye “long-skirted coat,” from Medieval Latin saia, sagum, a kind of cloth, from Latin saga, plural of sagum “coarse woolen cloak, soldier's cloak,” from Gaulish sogom

Word History and Origins

Origin of say¹

C13: from Old French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum a type of woollen cloak

Origin of say²

Old English secgan; related to Old Norse segja, Old Saxon seggian, Old High German sagēn

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. that is to say. that ( def 16 ).

More idioms and phrases containing say

• before you can say Jack Robinson
• cry (say) uncle
• do as I say
• give (say) the word
• go without (saying)
• have a say in
• I dare say
• I'll say
• needless to say
• never say die
• never say never
• not to mention (say nothing of)
• on one's say-so
• strange to say
• suffice it to say
• that is (to say)
• to say the least
• you can say that again
• you don't say
• said

Example Sentences

And more I cannot explain/but you, from what I did not say/will infer what I do not say.

From The Daily Beast

Compston managed all this without the say-so of the Courtauld, which sent him a stinging letter.

From The Daily Beast

Marchman takes it as a given that MLB basing its case on the say-so of a sketchy Floridian drug-dealer is preposterous.

From The Daily Beast

How does Romney give that answer on national television and force his campaign into what-he-really-meant-to-say mode?

From The Daily Beast

Matthew Yglesias on how the right's just-say-no game helped bring the left together.

From The Daily Beast

Or ne say-je quelle estoit sa maladie; si elle venoit seulement par intervalles, ou non, je n'en say rien: tant y a que le 2.

From Project Gutenberg

ITo heaven cry aloud, and to the world:“Who hath reduced her to this pass?Say, say!”

From Project Gutenberg

Maybe Marie would wish then that she had thought twice about quitting him just on her mother's say-so.

From Project Gutenberg

And hast thou fixed my doom, kind master, say?And wilt thou kill thy servant, old and poor?

From Project Gutenberg

And hast thou fixed my doom, sweet master, say?And wilt thou kill thy servant, old and poor?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• add
• announce
• answer
• assert
• claim
• convey
• declare
• deliver
• disclose
• do
• estimate
• express
• maintain
• mention
• read
• repeat
• reply
• report
• respond
• reveal