secgan

Middle English

Verb

secgan

1. Alternative form of seien

Old English

Alternative forms

• seggan, sæċġan, secgean, secggan, secggean, sagian, secgian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *saggjan.

Cognate with Old Frisian sedza, Old Saxon seggian, Old Dutch seggen, Old High German sagēn, Old Norse segja. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsej.jɑn/, [ˈsed.d͡ʒɑn]

Verb

seċġan

1. to say, tell

   Hwȳ ne sæġdest þū þæt ǣr?

   Why didn't you say that before?

   Iċ seċġe simle sōþ.

   I always tell the truth.

   Ġesiehst þū! Iċ þē sæġde þæt hit riġnan wolde.

   You see! I told you it was gonna rain.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"

     Nū wylle wē ēac ēow secgan hū hē sume dæġ ēode tō þām godes temple mid þām godspellere Iohanne...

     Now will we also tell you how on a certain day he went to God's temple with the evangelist John.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost"

     Þāðā hí noldon cuman to ðam giftum, ða sende hé eft, þus cweðende, "Secgað ðam gelaðodum, Efne, ic ġeġearcode mīne gōd, ic ofslóh mine fearras, and mine gemæstan fugelas, and ealle mine ðing ic ġearcode: cumað to þam giftum."

     When they would not come to the marriage, he sent again, thus saying, "Say to those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my meats, I have slain my oxen and my fatted fowls, and have prepared all my things: come to the marriage."

2. to recite, pronounce
3. to mention, talk about
   • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History

     In ðā ilcan tīd wǣron in Ēastseaxna mǣġðe æfter Swiðhelme, bī þǣm wē ǣr beforan sǣġdon, tweġen cyningas Siġhere ⁊ Sebbe, þēah hē hēo Wulfhere Mercna cyninge underþēodde wǣren in hērnesse.

     At this time there were two kings in the nation of the East-Saxons, Sighere and Sebbe, who came after Swithhelm, whom we have mentioned before, though they were subjects of Wulfhere, king of Mercia.

Usage notes

Unlike modern say, it is possible for seċġan to take an indirect object. The word referring to the person addressed is in the dative case.

Conjugation

Conjugation of seċġan (weak class 3)

infinitive	seċġan	seċġenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	seċġe	sæġde
second person singular	sæġst	sæġdest
third person singular	sæġþ	sæġde
plural	seċġaþ	sæġdon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	seċġe	sæġde
plural	seċġen	sæġden
imperative
singular	saga, sæġe
plural	seċġaþ
participle	present	past
	seċġende	(ġe)sæġd

Synonyms

• cweþan
• cyþan

Derived terms

• āseċġan
• beseċġan
• efnseċġan
• forseċġan
• foreseċġan
• wiþseċġan
• ġeseċġan

Descendants

• Middle English: seien, seyen, seggen
  • English: say