Say

Pronunciation

• enPR: sā, IPA: /seɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, &c., from Old English secġan ("to say, speak"), from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną ("to say"), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-, *sekʷe-, *skʷē- ("to tell, talk"). Cognate with West Frisian sizze ("to say"), Dutch zeggen ("to say"), German sagen ("to say"), Swedish säga ("to say").

Full definition of say

Verb

1. (transitive) To pronounce.
   Please say your name slowly and clearly.
2. (transitive) To recite.
   Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 5, 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.
3. To communicate, either verbally or in writing.
   He said he would be here tomorrow.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, 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.
• 1922, Ben Travers, A Cuckoo in the Nest Chapter 1, 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.
4. To indicate in a written form.
   The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.
5. (impersonal) To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact.
   They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do."
• 1815, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, '':They say that Hope is happiness; But genuine Love must prize the past.
• 1819, Great Britain Court of Chancery, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery, page 8:It is said, a bargain cannot be set aside upon inadequacy only.
• 1841, Christopher Marshall, The Knickerbocker (New-York Monthly Magazine), page 379:It’s said that fifteen wagon loads of ready-made clothes for the Virginia troops came to, and stay in, town to-night.
6. (informal, imperative) Let's say; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.
   A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.
   Say he refuses. What do we do then?
• 1984, Martin Amis, Money: a suicide note‎I'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...
7. (intransitive) To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge.
• John Milton (1608-1674)To this argument we shall soon have said; for what concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household privacies?

Synonyms

• See

Derived terms

Noun

1. One's stated opinion or input into a discussion or decision.
• 2004, Richard Rogers, Information politics on the WebAbove 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.

Grammaticalization of the verb. In the case of the conjunction, it could be considered an elision of "Let's say that" and for the "for example" sense of "Let's say"

Adverb

1. (colloquial) Used to gain one's attention before making an inquiry or suggestionSay, what did you think about the movie?
2. For example; let us assume.Pick a color you think they'd like, say, peach.He was driving pretty fast, say, fifty miles per hour.

Synonyms

• (used to gain attention) hey

Conjunction

1. (informal) Used to introduce a hypotheticalSay your family is starving and you don't have any money, is it ok to steal some food?

From Middle French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum ("military cloak").

Noun

1. A type of fine cloth similar to serge.
• 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.iv:All in a kirtle of discolourd say
  He clothed was ...

Aphetic form of assay.

Verb

1. To try; to assay.

Noun

1. Trial by sample; assay; specimen.
• HookerIf those principal works of God ... be but certain tastes and says, as if were, of that final benefit.
• ShakespeareThy tongue some say of breeding breathes.
2. Tried quality; temper; proof.
• SpenserHe found a sword of better say.
3. Essay; trial; attempt.

Anagrams

• yas