saga

From Old Norse saga (“epic tale, story”), from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”).

Cognate with Old English sagu (“story, tale, statement”), Old High German saga (“an assertion, narrative, sermon, pronouncement”), Icelandic saga (“story, tale, history”), German Sage (“saga, legend, myth”). More at say; Doublet of saw.

Compare typologically Ancient Greek ἔπος (épos) (whence epos, epic) << Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑːɡə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːɡə

saga (plural sagas)

1. An Old Norse (Icelandic) prose narrative, especially one dealing with family or social histories and legends.
2. Something with the qualities of such a saga; an epic, a long story.
   • 2003 December, “Fire Emblem”, in Nintendo Power, volume 174, A Long and Fiery Tradition, page 32:

     The latest Fire Emblem, developed by the makers of Advance Wars and available in the U.S., is the seventh game in an epic saga that began 13 years ago on the NES.

   • 2011 October 1, David Ornstein, “Blackburn 0-4 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎^[1], archived from the original on 9 December 2012:

     Manchester City put the Carlos Tevez saga behind them with a classy victory at Blackburn that keeps them level on points with leaders Manchester United.

   • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist‎^[2], volume 407, number 8839, archived from the original on 19 September 2020, page 55:

     According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.

From Latin saga, plural of sagum.

saga

1. plural of sagum

• AGAs, Agas, GAAs, agas, saag

From Proto-East Cushitic *sa(a)g- ("meat animal"). Cognate with Saho saga, Gawwada saakanko (“meat”), Tsamai saganko (“meat”). Unrelated to Somali sac.

• IPA^(key): /saˈɡa/ [sʌˈɡʌ]
• Hyphenation: sa‧ga

sagá f (masculine sagáytu, plural láa m)

1. cow

Declension of sagá
absolutive	sagá
predicative	sagá
subjective	sagá
genitive	sagá
Postpositioned forms l-case sagál k-case sagák t-case sagát h-case sagáh

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “saga”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[3], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga (Balinese script ᬲᬕ)

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

• “saga”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈsa.ɣə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsa.ɣa]

Borrowed from Old Norse saga, maybe through English saga.

saga f (plural sagues)

1. saga
2. (video games) series

Borrowed from Arabic سَاقَة (sāqa).

saga f (plural sagues)

1. back, behind, rear

• a la saga
• assagar

• “saga”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

From Old Norse saga.

saga (accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. saga

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[4], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

From sag (“saw”).

• Homophone: sagað

saga (third person singular past indicative sagaði, third person plural past indicative sagaðu, supine sagað)

1. to saw

From Proto-Central Pacific *saŋa, variant of *caŋa, from Proto-Oceanic *saŋa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saŋa.

saga

1. (anatomy) thigh

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑ(ː)ɡɑ/, [ˈs̠ɑ̝(ː)ɡɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑɡɑ
• Syllabification^(key): sa‧ga
• Hyphenation^(key): sa‧ga

saga

1. alternative spelling of saaga

From Old Norse segja (“to say”).

• IPA^(key): /sa.ɡa/

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

saga f (plural sagas)

1. saga

• “saga”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• agas

From the Old Norse saga, from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ.

saga f (plural sagas)

1. sorceress, witch
2. an Old Norse (Icelandic) prose narrative, especially one dealing with family or social histories and legends
3. something with the qualities of such a saga; an epic, a long story

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaːɣa/
• Rhymes: -aːɣa

From Old Norse saga, from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ.

Cognate with Old English sagu (English saw); Old Frisian sege; Old High German saga (German Sage); Old Danish saghæ, Old Swedish sagha, Faroese søga, Nynorsk soge, Jutlandic save (“a narrative, a narration, a tale, a report”), Swedish saga. Perhaps related to Lithuanian pasaka.

Compare with segja (“to say, to tell”) and sögn (“a story”).

saga f (genitive singular sögu, nominative plural sögur)

1. a story

   Segðu mér sögu.

   Tell me a story.

2. a history

   Saga Japans er mjög áhugaverð.

   The history of Japan is very interesting.

3. a saga

From sög (“saw”).

saga (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative sagaði, supine sagað)

1. to saw

saga

1. indefinite genitive plural of sög

• gasa

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡa/ [ˈsa.ɡa]
• Rhymes: -aɡa
• Syllabification: sa‧ga

Inherited from Malay saga, from Proto-Malayic *saga, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga (plural saga-saga)

1. (botany) jequirity, jequirity bean, rosary pea (Abrus precatorius)
2. (cooking) snack made from saga seeds that are roasted until the skin peels off

Borrowed from Dutch saga, from Old Norse saga (“epic tale, story”), from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”).

saga (plural saga-saga)

1. (literature) saga (Old Norse Icelandic prose; long epic story)

Borrowed from Nias [Term?].

saga (plural saga-saga)

1. unit of measurement of gold weight equal to 2 grams

• “saga”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

• IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡa/
• Rhymes: -aɡa
• Hyphenation: sà‧ga

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

saga f (plural saghe)

1. saga

Inherited from Latin sāga.

saga f (plural saghe)

1. (archaic, literary) witch

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

saga

1. singular feminine of sago

• gasa

saga

1. Rōmaji transcription of さが

saga

1. romanization of ꦱꦒ

Substantivisation of the female form of sāgus (“soothsaying”).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsaː.ɡa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsaː.ɡa]

sāga f (genitive sāgae); first declension

1. a female soothsayer, diviner, fortune-teller, prophetess, witch
2. knowledgeable people, especially elderly women
3. (metonymic, poetic) magic, magical phenomena or practitioners, supernatural events^[1]

First-declension noun.

sāga

1. inflection of sāgus:
   1. singular feminine nominative/vocative
   2. plural neuter nominative/accusative/vocative

sāgā

1. singular feminine ablative of sāgus

saga n

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of sagum

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

saga f (genitive sagae); first declension

1. (New Latin) saga
   • Saxonis Grammatici Historia danica. Recensuit et commentariis illustravit Dr. Petrus Erasmus Müller. Opus morte Mülleri interruptum absolvit Mag. Joannes Matthias Velschow, pars posterior, 1858, p. lxii:

     ... ratiocinari licet, Saxonem nullas scriptas sagas Islandicas ante oculos habuisse.

     ... it may be inferred that Saxo had not encountered any written Icelandic sagas.

First-declension noun.

• (sagà) IPA^(key): [s̪ɐˈɡɐ]
• (sãga) IPA^(key): [ˈs̪ä̌ːɡɐ]

Ablaut form of segti (“to fasten, attach”)

sagà f (plural sãgos) stress pattern 4 ^[1]

1. button

   sagas įsiūti^[1] - to sew buttons on

• (diminutive nouns) sagelė, sagutė

• (verb) segti

From Old Norse.

sagà f (plural sãgos) stress pattern 2 ^[1]

1. saga
2. (in broader sense) story, legend

• (legend): sakmė f

• gasa

• (Standard Literary) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡa/ [ˈsa.ɡa]
  • Rhymes: -aɡa, -ɡa, -a

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡə/ [ˈsa.ɡə] (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?) (particularly: schwa)
  • Rhymes: -aɡə, -ɡə, -ə
• Hyphenation: sa‧ga

Inherited from Proto-Malayic *saga, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga (Jawi spelling ساݢ, plural saga-saga or saga²)

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

From English saga, from Old Norse saga (“epic tale, story”), from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷe-, *skʷē- (“to tell, talk”).

saga (Jawi spelling ساݢ, plural saga-saga or saga²)

1. saga (Old Norse Icelandic prose)
2. saga (long epic story)

• "saga" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

• sagen (of sag)
• saget (of sage)
• sagde (of sage, simple past)
• sagd (of sage, past participle)

saga m or f

1. definite feminine singular of sag

saga

1. inflection of sage:
   1. simple past
   2. past participle

Learned borrowing from Old Norse saga, whence also the modern doublets soga, sogu and soge (all with -o- from the oblique sǫgu). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑː.ɡɑ/

saga f or m (definite singular sagaen or sagaa, indefinite plural sagaar or sagaer, definite plural sagaane or sagaene)

1. a saga

From sag (“saw”) +‎ -a.

• IPA^(key): /²sɑː.ɡɑ/

saga (present tense sagar, past tense saga, past participle saga, passive infinitive sagast, present participle sagande, imperative saga/sag)

1. to saw

• sage (e-infinitive)
• såggå (dialectal)

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑː.ɡɑ/

saga f

1. definite singular of sag

• “saga” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• gaas, gasa, saag

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑ.ɡɑ/, [ˈsɑ.ɣɑ]

From Proto-West Germanic *sagu, from Proto-Germanic *sagô (“saw, scythe”), *sagō, from Proto-Indo-European *sek-, *sēik- (“to cut”).

Cognate with Old Frisian sage (West Frisian seage), Old Saxon saga, Middle Dutch sage, saghe (Dutch zaag), Old High German [Term?] (“saga”) (German Säge), Old Norse sǫg (Icelandic sög, Danish sav, Swedish såg).

• sagu

saga m (nominative plural sagan)

1. saw (tool)

• Middle English: sawe
  • Scots: seg
  • English: saw
    • Sranan Tongo: sa

From Proto-West Germanic *sagā, from Proto-Germanic *sagō, *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷe-, *skʷē- (“to tell, talk”). More at saw.

saga m (nominative plural sagan)

1. saying; statement
2. story, tale; narrative

Weak:

• sagu

saga

1. imperative of sagian

From Proto-West Germanic *sagā, from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ. Cognate with Old English sagu, Old Norse saga.

saga f

1. story

• Middle High German: sage
  • German: Sage
  • Luxembourgish: So

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

• > Javanese: ꦱꦒ (saga) (inherited)

From Proto-Germanic *sagǭ. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”).

saga f (genitive sǫgu, plural sǫgur)

1. story, history, legend, saga

• Icelandic: saga f
• Faroese: søga f
• Norn: saga
• Norwegian Nynorsk: soge, soga, sogu; (dialectal) søgu, søge, sugu, soggo, soka
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: soge m or f
• Jamtish: sugu
• Old Swedish: sagha
  • Swedish: saga
    • → Finnish: saaga
• Old Danish: saghæ
  • Danish: sage c (archaic)
    • Norwegian Bokmål: sage m
  • Jutish: save c
• Gutnish: sage, sagå
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: saga f
• → Norwegian Bokmål: saga m
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: saga m or f
• → English: saga
  • → Afrikaans: saga
• → German: Saga
• → Kildin Sami: соа̄гк (såågk)

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “saga”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

From Proto-West Germanic *sagā. Cognate with Old English sagu, Old Frisian sege, Old High German saga (German Sage), Old Norse saga.

saga f

1. statement, discourse, report

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɡa
• Syllabification: sa‧ga
• Homophone: Saga

Borrowed from Icelandic saga.

saga f (related adjective sagowy)

1. saga (Old Norse Icelandic prose)
2. saga (long epic story)

See żaga.

saga f

1. (Far Masovian) alternative form of żaga (“corner; side”)

   Weźta ten bal i przewalta na sage. ― Take that ball and throw it aside into the corner.

• “saga”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[5] (in Polish)
• Wojciech Grzegorzewicz (1894), “saga”, in “O języku ludowym w powiecie przasnyskim”, in Sprawozdania Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności (in Polish), volume 5, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 121

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

• Rhymes: -aɡɐ
• Hyphenation: sa‧ga

saga f (plural sagas)

1. saga (Old Norse prose narrative)
2. (by extension) saga (long, epic story)

• “saga”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “saga”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French saga.

saga f (uncountable)

1. saga

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

From Old Norse saga.

• IPA^(key): /sâːɡa/
• Hyphenation: sa‧ga

sȃga f (Cyrillic spelling са̑га)

1. saga

From Old Norse saga.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡa/ [ˈsa.ɣ̞a]
• Rhymes: -aɡa
• Syllabification: sa‧ga

saga f (plural sagas)

1. saga
   • 2019 February 17, Francisco Martínez Hoyos, “10 idiomas que se crearon de la nada”, in La Vanguardia‎^[6]:

     El klingon es el idioma que inventó en 1967 el lingüista Marc Okrand para un pueblo de guerreros humanoides en Star Trek, la popular saga de ciencia ficción.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• “saga”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

saga

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

-saga (infinitive kusaga)

1. to grind, crush, mince
2. to have sex (of lesbians)

Conjugation of -saga
Positive present -nasaga Subjunctive -sage Negative -sagi Imperative singular saga
Infinitives
Positive kusaga Negative kutosaga
Imperatives
Singular saga Plural sageni
Tensed forms
Habitual husaga Positive past positive subject concord + -lisaga Negative past negative subject concord + -kusaga
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nasaga) Singular Plural 1st person ninasaga/nasaga tunasaga 2nd person unasaga mnasaga 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anasaga wanasaga other classes positive subject concord + -nasaga
Negative present (negative subject concord + -sagi) Singular Plural 1st person sisagi hatusagi 2nd person husagi hamsagi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hasagi hawasagi other classes negative subject concord + -sagi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tasaga Negative future negative subject concord + -tasaga
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -sage) Singular Plural 1st person nisage tusage 2nd person usage msage 3rd person m-wa(I/II) asage wasage other classes positive subject concord + -sage
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sisage Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngesaga Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singesaga Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalisaga Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalisaga
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -asaga) Singular Plural 1st person nasaga twasaga 2nd person wasaga mwasaga 3rd person m-wa(I/II) asaga wasaga m-mi(III/IV) wasaga yasaga ji-ma(V/VI) lasaga yasaga ki-vi(VII/VIII) chasaga vyasaga n(IX/X) yasaga zasaga u(XI) wasaga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwasaga pa(XVI) pasaga mu(XVIII) mwasaga
Perfect positive subject concord + -mesaga "Already" positive subject concord + -meshasaga "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jasaga "If/When" positive subject concord + -kisaga "If not" positive subject concord + -siposaga Consecutive kasaga / positive subject concord + -kasaga Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kasage
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nisaga -tusaga 2nd person -kusaga -wasaga/-kusageni/-wasageni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -msaga -wasaga m-mi(III/IV) -usaga -isaga ji-ma(V/VI) -lisaga -yasaga ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kisaga -visaga n(IX/X) -isaga -zisaga u(XI) -usaga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kusaga pa(XVI) -pasaga mu(XVIII) -musaga Reflexive -jisaga
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -saga- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -sagaye -sagao m-mi(III/IV) -sagao -sagayo ji-ma(V/VI) -sagalo -sagayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -sagacho -sagavyo n(IX/X) -sagayo -sagazo u(XI) -sagao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -sagako pa(XVI) -sagapo mu(XVIII) -sagamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -saga) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yesaga -osaga m-mi(III/IV) -osaga -yosaga ji-ma(V/VI) -losaga -yosaga ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chosaga -vyosaga n(IX/X) -yosaga -zosaga u(XI) -osaga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kosaga pa(XVI) -posaga mu(XVIII) -mosaga
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

• Verbal derivations:
  • Causative: -sagisha
  • Passive: -sagwa
  • Reciprocal: -sagana

• Nominal derivations:
  • msagaji (“lesbian”)
  • usagaji (“lesbianism”)

From Old Swedish sagha, from Old Norse saga, from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ. First attested in the mid-14th century^[1]

Cognate with Danish saghæ, Jutish save (“a narrative, a narration, a tale, a report”), Norwegian Nynorsk soge, Faroese søga, Icelandic saga, German Sage, English saw. Perhaps related to Lithuanian pasaka.

• Audio:

  (file)

saga c

1. a fairy tale [since mid-14th century]^[1]

   Jag brukar natta barnen genom att läsa sagor för dem.

   I usually put my kids to bed by reading them fairy tales.

   Hans och Greta är en tysk saga.

   Hansel and Gretel is a German fairy tale.

   Hon levde sig in i sagans värld.

   She immersed herself in the land of fairy tales.

2. (figuratively) a story, a tale (more generally)

   Synonym: historia

   Den tragiska sagan om kändisen.

   The tragic story of the celebrity.

3. a saga [since 1664]^[1]

   Völsungasagan

   The Saga of the Völsungs

   Sagan om ringen

   The Lord of the Rings

   (literally, “The Saga of the Ring”)

   • 2018 December 16, Kristoffer Bergström, “Stenersen hjälte – en saga på svorska [Stenersen the hero – a saga in Swedwegian]”, in Aftonbladet (column):

     Stenersen ståskjuter fullt, blåser iväg från Norge och Österrike och växlar över i delad ledning med Italien. I sträcktid är sprint-62:an från Bardufoss trea, i praktiken serverar han Sebastian Samuelsson segern på ett silverfat. Det är en totalt oväntad återkomst, en saga på svorska.

     Stenersen shoots clean in the standing, blows away from Norway and Austria and switches into a shared lead with Italy. In relay time the sprint-62 from Bardufoss is third; in practice he serves Sebastian Samuelsson the victory on a silver platter. It is a totally unexpected return, a saga in Swedwegian.

   • 2022 June 21, Dick Harrison, “Älskad ritual sågs inte med blida ögon”, in Svenska Dagbladet (column):

     I isländska sagor berättas om hur kristna härskare söker förbjuda förkristna midsommarritualer och ersätta dem med kristet midsommarfirande.

     In Icelandic sagas, it is told how Christian rulers sought to ban pre-Christian midsummer rituals and replace them with Christian midsummer celebrations.

• → Finnish: saaga

• “saga”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

• agas

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡaʔ/ [ˈsaː.ɣɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -aɡaʔ
• Syllabification: sa‧ga

sagà (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜄ)

1. rosary pea; Abrus precatorius (plant and seeds, of which is used to make rosary beads)

   Synonyms: bangati, kansasaga

• saga-saga

• gasa, agas, gaas

From Old Norse saga.

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɑɡɑ]

saga (definite accusative sagayı, plural sagalar)

1. Old Norse (Icelandic) saga

• IPA^(key): /ˈs̪a.ɡa/

saga

1. branch
2. junction of paths

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[7], Pacific linguistics