saying
[sey-ing]
- something said, especially a proverb or apothegm.
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- go without saying, to be completely self-evident; be understood: It goes without saying that you are welcome to visit us at any time.
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Origin of saying
Synonyms
See more synonyms for saying on Thesaurus.com1. maxim, adage, saw, aphorism.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
saying
- a maxim, adage, or proverb
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for go without saying
saying
n.
"utterance, recitation, action of the verb 'say,' " c.1300, verbal noun from say (v.); meaning "something that has been said" (usually by someone thought important) is from c.1300; sense of "a proverb" is first attested mid-15c.
Ça va sans dire, a familiar French locution, whose English equivalent might be "that is a matter of course," or "that may be taken for granted." But recently it has become the tendency to translate it literally, "that goes without saying," and these words, though originally uncouth and almost unmeaning to the unpractised ear, are gradually acquiring the exact meaning of the French. [Walsh, 1892]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with go without saying
go without saying
Be self-evident, a matter of course. For example, It goes without saying that success is the product of hard work. This expression is a translation of the French cela va sans dire. [Second half of 1800s]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.