English
saga
Saga comes from Old Norse saga ‘epic tale, story’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to say’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to say’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sagǭ1‘saying, story’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350saga1‘epic tale, story’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003saga1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English saga
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Fire Emblem: “The latest Fire Emblem, developed by the makers of…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, English saga‘to say’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sagǭWiktionary, English saga‘saying, story’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350sagaWiktionary, English saga‘epic tale, story’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003sagaWiktionary, English saga. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Fire Emblem: “The latest Fire Emblem, developed by the makers of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to say’
see, second, social, say, society, executive, suit, sight, associate, subsequent, sequence, pursue, sue, consecutive, prosecution, sequel, execute, consequently, persecution, sect, intrinsic, sequential, consequent, executor, sequestration, ensue, dissociation, persecute, extrinsic, segue, sequester, dissociate, seg, sequitur, 34 more
through Proto-Germanic *sagǭ ‘saying, story’
Today it means
noun An Old Norse (Icelandic) prose narrative, especially one dealing with family or social histories and legends.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “saga”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- / saga