What does "say" mean?
Say: Trial by sample; assay; sample; specimen; smack. [Obs.] if those principal works of God . . . be but certain tastes and saus, as if were, of that final benefit. Hooker. Thy tongue some say of breeding breathes. Shak.
Additional senses
- 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.
- 4.To try; to assay. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
- 5.A kind of silk or satin. [Obs.] Thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord! Shak.
- 6.A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth. [Obs.] His garment neither was of silk nor say. Spenser.
- 7.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.
- 8.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.
- 9.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.
- 10.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.
- 11.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.
- 12.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.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00