[syn: pronounce, articulate, enounce, sound out, enunciate, say]
7. communicate or express nonverbally;
- Example: "What does this painting say?"
- Example: "Did his face say anything about how he felt?"
8. utter aloud;
- Example: "She said `Hello' to everyone in the office";
9. state as one's opinion or judgement; declare;
- Example: "I say let's forget this whole business"
10. recite or repeat a fixed text;
- Example: "Say grace"
- Example: "She said her `Hail Mary'"
11. indicate;
- Example: "The clock says noon"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\, v. t.
To try; to assay. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\, n. [OE. saie, F. saie, fr. L. saga, equiv. to sagum,
sagus, a coarse woolen mantle; cf. Gr. sa`gos. See Sagum.]
1. A kind of silk or satin. [Obs.]
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Thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord!
--Shak.
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2. A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth. [Obs.]
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His garment neither was of silk nor say. --Spenser.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Said (s[e^]d), contracted from
sayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Saying.] [OE. seggen, seyen, siggen,
sayen, sayn, AS. secgan; akin to OS. seggian, D. zeggen, LG.
seggen, OHG. sag[=e]n, G. sagen, Icel. segja, Sw. s[aum]ga,
Dan. sige, Lith. sakyti; cf. OL. insece tell, relate, Gr.
'e`nnepe (for 'en-sepe), 'e`spete. Cf. Saga, Saw a
saying.]
1. To utter or express in words; to tell; to speak; to
declare; as, he said many wise things.
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Arise, and say how thou camest here. --Shak.
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2. To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; to pronounce; as, to
say a lesson.
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Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated
In what thou hadst to say? --Shak.
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After which shall be said or sung the following
hymn. --Bk. of Com.
Prayer.
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3. To announce as a decision or opinion; to state positively;
to assert; hence, to form an opinion upon; to be sure
about; to be determined in mind as to.
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But what it is, hard is to say. --Milton.
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4. To mention or suggest as an estimate, hypothesis, or
approximation; hence, to suppose; -- in the imperative,
followed sometimes by the subjunctive; as, he had, say
fifty thousand dollars; the fox had run, say ten miles.
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Say, for nonpayment that the debt should double,
Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble? --Shak.
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It is said, or They say, it is commonly reported; it is
rumored; people assert or maintain.
That is to say, that is; in other words; otherwise.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\ (s[=a]), obs. imp. of See.
Saw. --Chaucer.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\ (s[=a]), n. [Aphetic form of assay.]
1. Trial by sample; assay; sample; specimen; smack. [Obs.]
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If those principal works of God . . . be but certain
tastes and says, as it were, of that final benefit.
--Hooker.
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Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes. --Shak.
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2. Tried quality; temper; proof. [Obs.]
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He found a sword of better say. --Spenser.
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3. Essay; trial; attempt. [Obs.]
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To give a say at, to attempt. --B. Jonson.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\, v. i.
To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
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You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest
judge. --Shak.
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To this argument we shall soon have said; for what
concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household
privacies? --Milton.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Say \Say\, n. [From Say, v. t.; cf. Saw a saying.]
A speech; something said; an expression of opinion; a current
story; a maxim or proverb. [Archaic or Colloq.]
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He no sooner said out his say, but up rises a cunning
snap. --L'Estrange.
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That strange palmer's boding say,
That fell so ominous and drear
Full on the object of his fear. --Sir W.
Scott.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
say
n 1: the chance to speak; "let him have his say"
v 1: express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her";
"tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion";
"state your name" [syn: state, say, tell]
2: report or maintain; "He alleged that he was the victim of a
crime"; "He said it was too late to intervene in the war";
"The registrar says that I owe the school money" [syn:
allege, aver, say]
3: express a supposition; "Let us say that he did not tell the
truth"; "Let's say you had a lot of money--what would you
do?" [syn: suppose, say]
4: have or contain a certain wording or form; "The passage reads
as follows"; "What does the law say?" [syn: read, say]
5: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with
authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do
the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed"
[syn: order, tell, enjoin, say]
6: speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces
French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can
the child sound out this complicated word?" [syn:
pronounce, articulate, enounce, sound out,
enunciate, say]
7: communicate or express nonverbally; "What does this painting
say?"; "Did his face say anything about how he felt?"
8: utter aloud; "She said `Hello' to everyone in the office"
9: state as one's opinion or judgement; declare; "I say let's
forget this whole business"
10: recite or repeat a fixed text; "Say grace"; "She said her
`Hail Mary'"
11: indicate; "The clock says noon"
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):
say
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]
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
say
vt.
1. To type to a terminal. “To list a directory verbosely, you have to say
ls -l.” Tends to imply a newline-terminated command (a ‘sentence’).
2. A computer may also be said to ‘say’ things to you, even if it doesn't
have a speech synthesizer, by displaying them on a terminal in response to
your commands. Hackers find it odd that this usage confuses mundanes.