Adjacent Words

Saying definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SA'YING, ppr. Uttering in articulate sounds or words; speaking; telling; relating; reciting.
SA'YING, n.
1. An expression; a sentence uttered; a declaration.
Moses fled at this saying. Acts 7.
Cicero treasured up the sayings of Scaevola.
2. A proverbial expression. Many are the sayings of the wise.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; "pardon the expression" [syn: saying, expression, locution]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century something said; especially adage

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or an instance of saying. 2 a maxim, proverb, adage, etc. Phrases and idioms: as the saying goes (or is) an expression used in introducing a proverb, cliché, etc. go without saying be too well known or obvious to need mention. there is no saying it is impossible to know.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Say Say, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Said (s[e^]d), contracted from sayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Saying.] [OE. seggen, seyen, siggen, sayen, sayn, AS. secgan; akin to OS. seggian, D. zeggen, LG. seggen, OHG. sag[=e]n, G. sagen, Icel. segja, Sw. s["a]ga, Dan. sige, Lith. sakyti; cf. OL. insece tell, relate, Gr. 'e`nnepe (for 'en-sepe), 'e`spete. Cf. Saga, Saw a saying.] 1. To utter or express in words; to tell; to speak; to declare; as, he said many wise things. Arise, and say how thou camest here. --Shak. 2. To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; to pronounce; as, to say a lesson. Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated In what thou hadst to say? --Shak. After which shall be said or sung the following hymn. --Bk. of Com. Prayer. 3. To announce as a decision or opinion; to state positively; to assert; hence, to form an opinion upon; to be sure about; to be determined in mind as to. But what it is, hard is to say. --Milton. 4. To mention or suggest as an estimate, hypothesis, or approximation; hence, to suppose; -- in the imperative, followed sometimes by the subjunctive; as, he had, say fifty thousand dollars; the fox had run, say ten miles. Say, for nonpayment that the debt should double, Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble? --Shak. It is said, or They say, it is commonly reported; it is rumored; people assert or maintain. That is to say, that is; in other words; otherwise.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Saying Say"ing, n. That which is said; a declaration; a statement, especially a proverbial one; an aphorism; a proverb. Many are the sayings of the wise, In ancient and in modern books enrolled. --Milton. Syn: Declaration; speech; adage; maxim; aphorism; apothegm; saw; proverb; byword.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sayings) 1. A saying is a sentence that people often say and that gives advice or information about human life and experience. We also realize the truth of that old saying: Charity begins at home... N-COUNT 2. The sayings of a person, especially a religious or political leader, are important things that they said or pieces of advice that they gave. The sayings of Confucius offer guidance on this matter. N-COUNT: usu pl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Expression, observation, remark, declaration, statement, speech. 2. Proverb, saw, maxim, aphorism, adage, apothegm, dictum, by-word, sententious precept.

Moby Thesaurus

Parthian shot, adage, address, affirmance, affirmation, allegation, ana, analects, announcement, annunciation, answer, aphorism, apostrophe, apothegm, assertion, asseveration, averment, avouchment, avowal, axiom, byword, catchword, collected sayings, comment, conclusion, crack, creed, current saying, declaration, dictate, dictum, distich, enunciation, epigram, exclamation, expression, gnome, golden saying, greeting, interjection, ipse dixit, manifesto, maxim, mention, moral, mot, motto, note, observation, oracle, phrase, pithy saying, position, position paper, positive declaration, precept, predicate, predication, prescript, proclamation, profession, pronouncement, proposition, protest, protestation, proverb, proverbial saying, proverbs, question, reflection, remark, saw, say, say-so, sentence, sententious expression, sloka, stance, stand, statement, stock saying, subjoinder, sutra, teaching, text, thought, truism, utterance, verse, vouch, wisdom, wisdom literature, wise saying, witticism, word, words of wisdom