saga English · revision 15337

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1709}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɑːɡə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsɑɡə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|non|saga|t=saga, story, narrative]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) cognate with [[ang|sagu|t=a saying]], the source of [[saw]] in old saw.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A medieval Icelandic or Norwegian prose narrative: 1709, an antiquarians' revival, in Barnhart, the OED and Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Hardly anyone in Britain had paid attention to the sagas before then.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A narrative with the characteristics of the Icelandic sagas, any story of heroic deeds, is from 1857, in Longfellow.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) In loose use it came to mean a long, involved story,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and a series of novels about a family.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1709 – a Norse saga.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – a legend (after German Sage).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1857 – any heroic or long story.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A medieval prose narrative from Iceland or Norway about heroes, families and kings.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long story of heroic deeds or adventure.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long, eventful or complicated story: ''the saga of the new stadium''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A series of novels about a family over several generations.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[saw]]

+ * [[say]]

+ * [[edda]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}