say1

[sey] /seɪ/
verb (used with object), said, saying.
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, saying.
10.
to speak; declare; express an opinion.
adverb
11.
approximately; about:
It's, say, 14 feet long.
12.
for example:
If you serve, say tuna fish and potato chips, it will cost much less.
noun
13.
what a person says or has to say.
14.
the right or opportunity to speak, decide, or exercise influence:
to have one's say in choosing the candidate.
15.
a turn to say something:
It is now my say.
interjection
16.
(used to express surprise, get attention, etc.)
Idioms
17.
that is to say. that (def 16).
Origin
before 900; Middle English seyen, seggen, Old English secgan; cognate with Dutch zeggen, German sagen, Old Norse segja; akin to saw3
Related forms
sayer, noun

say2

[sey] /seɪ/
verb (used with object), noun, British Dialect
1.
assay.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English sayen, aphetic variant of assayen to assay

say3

[sey] /seɪ/
noun
1.
a thin silk or woolen fabric similar to serge, much used in the 16th century.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Old French saie < Latin saga, plural of sagum woolen cloak, said to be < Gaulish

Say

[sey] /seɪ/
noun
1.
Jean Baptiste
[zhahn ba-teest] /ʒɑ̃ baˈtist/ (Show IPA), 1767–1832, French economist.
Compare Say's law.
2.
Thomas, 1787–1834, U.S. entomologist.
Examples from the web for say
  • And they may not have all the answers, legal experts say.
  • Despite their snapping, the gators show true teamwork, experts say.
  • Cocoa growing will now spread to other countries if their climate changes as you say it will.
  • Lee tended to say that her characters were basically fictional, but her biography does seem more ambiguous.
  • Pinot needs leaf-by-leaf and berry-by-berry attention in the vineyard, the growers say.
  • Apple later patched that exploit, but security researchers say there are plenty of vulnerabilities in the wild left unaddressed.
  • Experts say that's a problem for marine mammals and other aquatic animals.
  • It determines the quality of the sparkler, to say nothing of the taste of its champion.
  • Let's say your kibbutz or town was getting pounded by rockets.
  • One can say a lot of things on the findings that this article reports.
British Dictionary definitions for say

say1

/seɪ/
verb (mainly transitive) says (sɛz), saying, said
1.
to speak, pronounce, or utter
2.
(also intransitive) to express (an idea) in words; tell: we asked his opinion but he refused to say
3.
(also intransitive; 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) (Irish) 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, to be so obvious as to need no explanation
11.
(mainly Brit, informal) I say!, an exclamation of surprise
12.
not to say, even; and indeed
13.
that is to say, in other words; more explicitly
14.
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, without the slightest exaggeration; at the very least
adverb
16.
approximately: there were, say, 20 people present
17.
for example: choose a number, say, four
noun
18.
the right or chance to speak: let him have his say
19.
authority, esp to influence a decision: he has a lot of say in the company's policy
20.
a statement of opinion: you've had your say, now let me have mine
interjection
21.
(US & Canadian, informal) an exclamation to attract attention or express surprise, etc
Derived Forms
sayer, noun
Word Origin
Old English secgan; related to Old Norse segja, Old Saxon seggian, Old High German sagēn

say2

/seɪ/
noun
1.
(archaic) a type of fine woollen fabric
Word Origin
C13: from Old French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum a type of woollen cloak
Word Origin and History for say
v.

Old English secgan "to utter, inform, speak, tell, relate," from Proto-Germanic *sagjanan (cf. Old Saxon seggian, Old Norse segja, Danish sige, Old Frisian sedsa, Middle Dutch segghen, Dutch zeggen, Old High German sagen, German sagen "to say"), from PIE *sokwyo-, from root *sekw- (3) "to say, utter" (cf. Hittite shakiya- "to declare," Lithuanian sakyti "to say," Old Church Slavonic sociti "to vindicate, show," Old Irish insce "speech," Old Latin inseque "to tell say").

Past tense said developed from Old English segde. Not attested in use with inanimate objects (clocks, signs, etc.) as subjects before 1930. You said it "you're right" first recorded 1919; you can say that again as a phrase expressing agreement is recorded from 1942, American English. You don't say (so) as an expression of astonishment (often ironic) is first recorded 1779, American English.

n.

"what someone says," 1570s, from say (v.). Meaning "right or authority to influence a decision" is from 1610s. Extended form say-so is first recorded 1630s. Cf. Old English secge "speech."

Slang definitions & phrases for say

say

Related Terms

what do you say


say in Technology

A human may "say" things to a computer by typing them on a terminal. "To list a directory verbosely, say "ls -l"." Tends to imply a newline-terminated command (a "sentence").
A computer may "say" things to you, even if it doesn't have a speech synthesiser, by displaying them on a terminal in response to your commands. This usage often confuses mundanes.
[Jargon File]
Idioms and Phrases with say

say

also see:
also see under:
said