Where does “say” come from?
Assay comes from Anglo-Norman assaier, from Latin saga meaning "to try or test," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sekʷe- meaning "to follow or pursue."
say (English): To pronounce; To recite; To tell, either verbally...
Definitions
- To pronounce; To recite; To tell, either verbally...
Ancestry of “say”, step by step
say traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English assay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | assay | Trial, attempt; Examination and determination;... |
| 2 | Middle English | assay | Examining; investigation, looking into, research;... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | assaier | Alternative form of essaier |
| 4 | Old French | essai | trial |
| 5 | Late Latin | exagium | weight; weighing, testing on the balance;... |
| 6 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 7 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via Middle French saie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | saie | — |
| 2 | Latin | saga | a female soothsayer, fortune-teller, prophetess,... |
| 3 | Latin | sagus | Archaic form of sagum; divining, prophetic |
| 4 | Latin | sāgiō | to perceive quickly or keenly with the senses |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | sāgiō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | séh₂gyeti | to give a sign |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | seh₂g- | to seek out |