saw

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: sô, IPA^(key): /ˈsɔː/

  Homophones: (in some non-rhotic accents): soar, sore

• Rhymes: -ɔː
• (US) enPR: sô, IPA^(key): /ˈsɔ/
• (US, intrusive r, New England) IPA^(key): [ˈsɔɹ]
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: sä, IPA^(key): /ˈsɑ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  (idiosyncratic, past tense of 'see') IPA^(key): /ˈsɑl/

A saw—a tool

The noun from Middle English sawe, sawgh, from Old English saga, sagu (“saw”), from Proto-West Germanic *sagu, from Proto-Germanic *sagô, *sagō (“saw”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”).

Cognate with West Frisian seage (“saw”), Dutch zaag (“saw”), German Säge (“saw”), Danish sav (“saw”), Swedish såg (“saw”), Icelandic sög (“saw”), and through Indo-European, with Latin secō (“cut”) and Italian sega (“saw”).

The verb from Middle English sawen, from the noun above.

saw (plural saws)

1. A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard substances, in particular wood or metal.
   1. Such a tool with an abrasive coating instead of teeth.
2. A musical saw.
3. A sawtooth wave.
4. (whist) The situation where two partners agree to trump a suit alternately, playing that suit to each other for the express purpose.

• Sranan Tongo: sa

saw (third-person singular simple present saws, present participle sawing, simple past sawed, past participle sawed or sawn)

1. (transitive) To cut (something) with a saw.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:37:

     They were stoned, they were sawen asunder, were tempted, were slaine with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskinnes, and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.

2. (intransitive) To make a motion back and forth similar to cutting something with a saw.
   • 1835, James Hogg, The Story of Euphemia Hewit:

     He said he was sometimes whistling a tune to himself — for, like me, he sawed a good deal on the fiddle; […]

3. (intransitive) To be cut with a saw.

   The timber saws smoothly.

4. (transitive) To form or produce (something) by cutting with a saw.

   to saw boards or planks (i.e. to saw logs or timber into boards or planks)

   to saw shingles

   to saw out a panel

From Middle English sawe, from Old English sagu, saga (“story, tale, saying, statement, report, narrative, tradition”), from Proto-West Germanic *sagā, from Proto-Germanic *sagō, *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷe-, *skʷē-, from *sekʷ- (“to say”).

Cognate with Dutch sage (“saga”), German Sage (“legend, saga, tale, fable”), Danish sagn (“legend”), Norwegian soga (“story”), Icelandic saga (“story, tale, history”). More at saga, say. Doublet of saga.

saw (plural saws)

1. (obsolete) Something spoken; speech, discourse.
   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

     And for thy trew sawys, and I may lyve many wynters, there was never no knyght better rewardid […].
     And for your true discourses, and I may live many winters, there was never no knight better rewarded […].

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (archaic) A saying or proverb.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:saying

   old saw

   • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], lines 152-5:

     And then the justice, / In fair round belly with good capon lined, / With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, / Full of wise saws and modern instances.

   • 1902, Charles Robert Ashbee, Masque of the Edwards of England, page 8:

     At his crowning […] the priest in his honour preached on the saw, 'Vox populi, vox Dei.'

   • 2017, Andrew Marantz, "Becoming Steve Bannon's Bannon", The New Yorker, Feb 13&20 ed.

     There’s an old saw about Washington, D.C., that staffers in their twenties know more about the minutiae of government than their bosses do.

3. (obsolete) Opinion, idea, belief.

   by thy saw ― in your opinion

   commune saw ― common opinion/knowledge

   on no saw ― by no means

4. (obsolete) Proposal, suggestion; possibility.
   • c. 1350-1400, unknown, The Erl of Toulous

     All they assentyd to the sawe; They thoght he spake reson and lawe.

5. (obsolete) Dictate; command; decree.
   • 1595, Ed. Spencer [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “Colin Clouts Come Home Againe”, in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     [Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.

• soothsaw
• withsaw

saw

1. simple past of see
2. (colloquial, nonstandard) past participle of see
   • 1907, Report of the Special Committee of Investigation of the Government Hospital for the Insane‎, Govrnment Printing Office, page 297:

     Mr. Harbaugh. All instances that I have saw.

   • 2006, K.C. Carceral, Prison, Inc: A Convict Exposes Life Inside a Private Prison‎, NYU Press, →ISBN, page 68:

     “I think so. He might have saw him already. Shit dude, I don't know. You run the place.”

   • 2014 October 7, Frances O'Roark Dowell, Anybody Shining‎, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 110:

     “I might have saw something,” I told him. “At least I think I might have saw something. Only I couldn't say what.”

• saw sam sai (etymologically unrelated)

• was, Was, aws, WAs, ASW, AWS

• IPA^(key): /sʰaw/

saw (Bengali script সাৱ)

1. rotten

From Proto-Khasian *saːw, an innovation of the Khasian branch. Cognate with Pnar soo.

saw

1. four

saw

1. saw
   • 1387, Ranulf Higden, translated by John of Trevisa, Polychronicon:

     Þe more comoun sawe is þat Remus was i-slawe for he leep ouer þe newe walles of Rome.

     The more common opinion is that Remus was slain for he lept over the new walls of Rome.

saw ?

1. terror
2. horror

• (Doric and most Southern Scots dialects) IPA^(key): /sa/
• (Central and some Southern Scots dialects) IPA^(key): /sɔ/

saw

1. (South Scots) simple past tense of sei
2. (Northern and Central) simple past tense of see

saw (plural saws)

1. A salve.

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /θaɯ˨˦/
• Tone numbers: saw¹
• Hyphenation: saw

From Proto-Tai *sɯːᴬ (“writing; book”), from Middle Chinese 書 (MC syo, “writing; book”). Cognate with Lao ສື (sư̄), Thai สือ (sʉ̌ʉ).

• sw

saw (Sawndip forms 𭨡 or 字 or 𰗂 or 𭓙 or 𰁈, 1957–1982 spelling səɯ)

1. written language; writing; script
2. (Chinese) character
3. word
4. book
5. teaching material
6. receipt; voucher

From Proto-Tai *saɰᴬ (“clear; clean”). Cognate with Thai ใส (sǎi), Northern Thai ᩈᩲ, Isan ใส, Lao ໃສ (sai), Lü ᦺᦉ (ṡay), Tai Dam ꪻꪎ, Shan သႂ် (sǎue), Tai Nüa ᥔᥬᥴ (sáue), Ahom 𑜏𑜧 (saw) or 𑜏𑜧𑜤 (sawu).

saw (Sawndip forms 𰝓 or 𢙣 or 㳏, 1957–1982 spelling səɯ)

1. clean
2. (of transparent objects, water, etc.) clear
3. (of liquids other than water) watery; thin

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from 輸?”)

saw (Sawndip forms 𰷙 or 賒, 1957–1982 spelling səɯ)

1. to lose