Etymologically
Log in

saw

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 13:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /sɔː/, US /sɑː/, /sɔː/[1]

saw1 cutting tool

Etymology

The tool is inherited from Middle English sawe, inherited from Old English sagu (also saga),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *sagō (“a cutting tool”),[3] from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”),[3][5][2] the root also of Latin secāre (“to cut”) and secūris (“axe”).[3][2][6] Old English seax (“knife”) is related.[3][7] Its relatives include Dutch zaag, German Säge and Old Norse sǫg,[3][2][6] and in English section and seesaw.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cutting tool with teeth: Old English sagu, about 1000, in Ælfric's Glossary.[2]

Semantic evolution

The plural sagen is found about 1125, the northern form sagh before 1335, and sawe about 1350.[2] The verb is from about 1200,[3][2] at first weak, with the strong participle sawn appearing by about 1400.[3][7] The sawfly is named from 1773, after the female's egg-laying organ, and saw grass from 1822.[3] Sawbuck, a frame for holding wood, is American, from 1850, partly from Dutch zaagbok; it also meant a ten-dollar bill from 1850, probably from the X-shaped ends, like the Roman numeral.[2] Sawed-off is from 1887, and of shotguns from 1898.[3] A saw played as a musical instrument is recorded by 1905.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – Old English sagu (Ælfric).[2]
  • c. 1200 – verb, to cut with a saw.[3][2]
  • c. 1400 – participle sawn.[3]
  • 1773 – sawfly.[3]
  • 1850 – sawbuck.[2]
  • 1887 – sawed-off.[3]
  • 1905 – the musical saw.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A tool with a thin, usually toothed blade or disc, worked by hand or power, for cutting wood, metal or other hard material.

Verb

  1. To cut or shape with a saw.
  2. To move back and forth as if sawing.

saw2 saying

Etymology

The saying is inherited from Middle English sawe, inherited from Old English sagu (“saying, discourse, speech; a tale”),[2][3] related to secgan (“to say”),[2][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say, utter”).[3][5] Its relatives include German Sage (“legend, myth”) and Old Norse saga (“story, tale”),[2][3] the source of English saga, a doublet of saw.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A saying, discourse, speech: Old English sagu, before 1000.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English form sawe is found probably about 1150.[2] The general senses “speech, talk” and “a story” died out by the 17th century,[4] and a decree or command, a sense found from 1338, by 1595.[8] The surviving sense, “a proverb, a maxim”, dates from the late 13th century.[3][7] The Century Dictionary called it a contemptuous term for a saying more common than wise.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1000 – Old English sagu.[2]
  • c. 1150 – Middle English sawe.[2]
  • late 13th century – a proverb.[3]
  • 1338–1595 – a decree.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A familiar saying, especially one made trite by repetition; a proverb or maxim.
  • say
  • saga
  • seesaw
  • sawyer
  • section

Usage notes

Saw is also the past tense of see, from the Old English plural sāwon.[3][9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin