Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Say \Say\ (s[=a]), obs. imp. of {See}.
Saw. --Chaucer.
Say \Say\ (s[=a]), n. [Aphetic form of assay.]
1. Trial by sample; assay; sample; specimen; smack. [Obs.]
If those principal works of God . . . be but certain
tastes and says, as it were, of that final benefit.
--Hooker.
Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes. --Shak.
2. Tried quality; temper; proof. [Obs.]
He found a sword of better say. --Spenser.
3. Essay; trial; attempt. [Obs.]
{To give a say at}, to attempt. --B. Jonson.
Say \Say\, v. t.
To try; to assay. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
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.]
Thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord!
--Shak.
2. A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth. [Obs.]
His garment neither was of silk nor say. --Spenser.
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["a]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.
Arise, and say how thou camest here. --Shak.
2. To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; to pronounce; as, to
say a lesson.
Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated In what
thou hadst to say? --Shak.
After which shall be said or sung the following
hymn. --Bk. of Com.
Prayer.
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.
But what it is, hard is to say. --Milton.
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.
Say, for nonpayment that the debt should double, Is
twenty hundred kisses such a trouble? --Shak.
{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.
Say \Say\, v. i.
To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.
You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest
judge. --Shak.
To this argument we shall soon have said; for what
concerns it us to hear a husband divulge his household
privacies? --Milton.
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.]
He no sooner said out his say, but up rises a cunning
snap. --L'Estrange.
That strange palmer's boding say, That fell so ominous
and drear Full on the object of his fear. --Sir W.
Scott.
Source : WordNet®
say
n : the chance to speak; "let him have his say"
[also: {said}]
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}, {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}]
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}]
4: have or contain a certain wording or form; "The passage
reads as follows"; "What does the law say?" [syn: {read}]
5: state as one's opinion or judgement; declare; "I say let's
forget this whole business"
6: utter aloud; "She said `Hello' to everyone in the office"
7: 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}]
8: 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}]
9: recite or repeat a fixed text; "Say grace"; "She said her
`Hail Mary'"
10: communicate or express nonverbally; "What does this painting
say?"; "Did his face say anything about how he felt?"
11: indicate; "The clock says noon"
[also: {said}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
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
{mundane}s.
[{Jargon File}]