Etymograph

English

say

Say comes from Old English seċġan ‘to say, speak’, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną ‘to say’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to say’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to say’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sokʷ-h₁-yé-1uncertainsuffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sagjaną1‘to say’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*saggjan1‘to say’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150seċġan1‘to say, speak’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saien1
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600say1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English say
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “You have said; but whether wisely or no, let…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, English say‘to say’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sokʷ-h₁-yé-Wiktionary, English sayuncertainsuffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sagjanąWiktionary, English say‘to say’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*saggjanWiktionary, English say‘to say’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150seċġanWiktionary, English say‘to say, speak’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saienWiktionary, English say
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600sayWiktionary, English say. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “You have said; but whether wisely or no, let…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to say’

see, second, social, society, executive, saw, suit, sight, associate, subsequent, sequence, pursue, sue, consecutive, prosecution, sequel, execute, consequently, persecution, sect, intrinsic, saga, sequential, consequent, executor, sequestration, ensue, dissociation, persecute, extrinsic, segue, sequester, dissociate, seg, sequitur, 34 more

through Old English seċġan ‘to say, speak’

saith, 2 more

Another origin of say

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagum‘military cloak’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagaplural of sagum
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600saie
  4. Englishtodaysay

Today it means

verb To pronounce.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “say”. 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- / say

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