saga

See also: Appendix:Variations of "saga"

Languages (39)

English

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English

Etymology 1

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /ˈsɑːɡə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɑɡə/
• (Australia, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈsɐːɡə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡə/
• Rhymes: -ɑːɡə

Noun

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.

Derived terms

• Aga saga
• minisaga
• Nart saga
• saga boy
• sagalike
• sagaman
• supersaga

Translations

Old Norse Icelandic prose

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: са́га f (sága)
• Catalan: saga (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 薩迦 / 萨迦 (zh) (sàjiā)

• Crimean Tatar: saga
• Czech: sága (cs) f
• Danish: saga c
• Esperanto: sagao
• Faroese: søga f
• Finnish: saaga (fi)
• French: saga (fr) f
• Galician: saga f
• German: Saga (de) f
• Hungarian: saga (hu)
• Icelandic: saga (is) f
• Indonesian: saga (id)
• Italian: saga (it) f
• Latin: saga f
• Malay: saga (ms)
• Polish: saga (pl) f
• Portuguese: saga (pt) f
• Russian: са́га (ru) f (sága)
• Scottish Gaelic: sàga m
• Slovak: sága f
• Slovene: saga (sl) f
• Spanish: saga (es) f
• Swedish: saga (sv) c
• Turkish: saga
• Võro: saaga
• Zazaki: saga

long epic story

• Arabic: مَلحَمَة f (malḥama)
• Bulgarian: сказа́ние (bg) n (skazánie)
• Catalan: saga (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: tarina (fi), taru (fi), saaga (fi)
• Galician: saga f
• German: Sage (de) f
• Hungarian: monda (hu), rege (hu)
• Icelandic: saga (is) f
• Malay: saga (ms), hikayat
• Polish: saga (pl) f
• Portuguese: saga (pt) f
• Romanian: legendă nordică
• Russian: са́га (ru) f (sága), эпопея (ru) f (epopeja)
• Scottish Gaelic: sàga m
• Slovene: saga (sl) f
• Spanish: saga (es) f
• Turkish: destan (tr)
• Uzbek: doston (uz)
• Zazaki: destan

Etymology 2

From Latin saga, plural of sagum.

Noun

saga

1. plural of sagum

Anagrams

• AGAs, Agas, GAAs, agas, saag

Afar

Saga.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sagá f (masculine sagáytu, plural láa m)

1. cow

Declension

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

References

• 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)

Balinese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

Noun

saga (Balinese script ᬲᬕ)

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

Further reading

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

Baramu

Noun

saga

1. arm

References

• Andrew Pawley et al., "The Trans New Guinea family", in The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide (2018, →ISBN)
• Timothy Usher, Edgar Suter, The Anim Languages of Southern New Guinea, Oceanic Linguistics 54(1) (June 2015), page 129: "Baramu [sagaː]"

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse saga, maybe through English saga.

Noun

saga f (plural sagues)

1. saga
2. (video games) series

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic سَاقَة (sāqa).

Noun

saga f (plural sagues)

1. back, behind, rear

Derived terms

• a la saga
• assagar

Further reading

• “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

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Old Norse saga.

Noun

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

1. saga

Declension

Declension of saga

nominative	saga
genitive	saganıñ
dative	sagağa
accusative	saganı
locative	sagada
ablative	sagadan

References

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

Faroese

Etymology

From sag (“saw”).

Pronunciation

• Homophone: sagað

Verb

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

1. to saw

Conjugation

Conjugation of saga (group v-30)

infinitive	saga
supine	sagað
	present	past
first singular	sagi	sagaði
second singular	sagar	sagaði
third singular	sagar	sagaði
plural	saga	sagaðu
participle (a6)1	sagandi	sagaður
	imperative
singular	saga!
plural	sagið!

¹Only the past participle being declined.

Fijian

Etymology

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

Noun

saga-na

1. (anatomy, originally) crotch, groin (narrow depression separating the trunk from the legs)
2. (anatomy) thigh (upper leg)

   E mavoa na saga-qu.

   My thigh is injured.

3. (by extension, cooking) leg (of meat)

   saga ni sipi ― leg of lamb/mutton

Derived terms

• cabola ni sagana (“to fart explosively”) (vulgar)
• vu ni saga-na (“thigh joint, hip joint”)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “saga”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[5], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 214

Finnish

Pronunciation

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

Noun

saga

1. alternative spelling of saaga

Declension

Inflection of saga (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		saga	sagat
genitive		sagan	sagojen
partitive		sagaa	sagoja
illative		sagaan	sagoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		saga	sagat
accusative	nom.	saga	sagat
	gen.	sagan
genitive		sagan	sagojen sagain rare
partitive		sagaa	sagoja
inessive		sagassa	sagoissa
elative		sagasta	sagoista
illative		sagaan	sagoihin
adessive		sagalla	sagoilla
ablative		sagalta	sagoilta
allative		sagalle	sagoille
essive		sagana	sagoina
translative		sagaksi	sagoiksi
abessive		sagatta	sagoitta
instructive		—	sagoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of saga (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative sagani sagani accusative nom. sagani sagani gen. sagani genitive sagani sagojeni sagaini rare partitive sagaani sagojani inessive sagassani sagoissani elative sagastani sagoistani illative sagaani sagoihini adessive sagallani sagoillani ablative sagaltani sagoiltani allative sagalleni sagoilleni essive saganani sagoinani translative sagakseni sagoikseni abessive sagattani sagoittani instructive — — comitative — sagoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative sagasi sagasi accusative nom. sagasi sagasi gen. sagasi genitive sagasi sagojesi sagaisi rare partitive sagaasi sagojasi inessive sagassasi sagoissasi elative sagastasi sagoistasi illative sagaasi sagoihisi adessive sagallasi sagoillasi ablative sagaltasi sagoiltasi allative sagallesi sagoillesi essive saganasi sagoinasi translative sagaksesi sagoiksesi abessive sagattasi sagoittasi instructive — — comitative — sagoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative sagamme sagamme accusative nom. sagamme sagamme gen. sagamme genitive sagamme sagojemme sagaimme rare partitive sagaamme sagojamme inessive sagassamme sagoissamme elative sagastamme sagoistamme illative sagaamme sagoihimme adessive sagallamme sagoillamme ablative sagaltamme sagoiltamme allative sagallemme sagoillemme essive saganamme sagoinamme translative sagaksemme sagoiksemme abessive sagattamme sagoittamme instructive — — comitative — sagoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative saganne saganne accusative nom. saganne saganne gen. saganne genitive saganne sagojenne sagainne rare partitive sagaanne sagojanne inessive sagassanne sagoissanne elative sagastanne sagoistanne illative sagaanne sagoihinne adessive sagallanne sagoillanne ablative sagaltanne sagoiltanne allative sagallenne sagoillenne essive sagananne sagoinanne translative sagaksenne sagoiksenne abessive sagattanne sagoittanne instructive — — comitative — sagoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative sagansa sagansa accusative nom. sagansa sagansa gen. sagansa genitive sagansa sagojensa sagainsa rare partitive sagaansa sagojaan sagojansa inessive sagassaan sagassansa sagoissaan sagoissansa elative sagastaan sagastansa sagoistaan sagoistansa illative sagaansa sagoihinsa adessive sagallaan sagallansa sagoillaan sagoillansa ablative sagaltaan sagaltansa sagoiltaan sagoiltansa allative sagalleen sagallensa sagoilleen sagoillensa essive saganaan saganansa sagoinaan sagoinansa translative sagakseen sagaksensa sagoikseen sagoiksensa abessive sagattaan sagattansa sagoittaan sagoittansa instructive — — comitative — sagoineen sagoinensa

French

Etymology

From Old Norse segja (“to say”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa.ɡa/

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

Noun

saga f (plural sagas)

1. saga

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• agas

Galician

Etymology

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

Noun

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

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsaːɣa]
• Rhymes: -aːɣa

Etymology 1

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”).

Noun

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

Declension

Declension of saga (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	saga	sagan	sögur	sögurnar
accusative	sögu	söguna	sögur	sögurnar
dative	sögu	sögunni	sögum	sögunum
genitive	sögu	sögunnar	sagna	sagnanna

Derived terms

terms derived from saga (“a story”)

• ganga eins og í sögu
• koma til sögunnar
• bera vel söguna
• sjón er sögu ríkari
• saga að segja frá
• smásaga

terms derived from saga (“a history”)

• úr sögunni

Etymology 2

From sög (“saw”).

Verb

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

1. to saw

Conjugation

saga – active voice (germynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að saga
supine sagnbót		sagað
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		sagandi
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	saga	sagaði		sagi	sagaði
	þú	sagar	sagaðir		sagir	sagaðir
	hann, hún, það	sagar	sagaði		sagi	sagaði
plural	við	sögum	söguðum		sögum	söguðum
	þið	sagið	söguðuð		sagið	söguðuð
	þeir, þær, þau	saga	söguðu		sagi	söguðu
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	saga (þú), sagaðu
plural	þið	sagið (þið), sagiði1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

sagast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að sagast
supine sagnbót		sagast
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		sagandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	sagast	sagaðist		sagist	sagaðist
	þú	sagast	sagaðist		sagist	sagaðist
	hann, hún, það	sagast	sagaðist		sagist	sagaðist
plural	við	sögumst	söguðumst		sögumst	söguðumst
	þið	sagist	söguðust		sagist	söguðust
	þeir, þær, þau	sagast	söguðust		sagist	söguðust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	sagast (þú), sagastu
plural	þið	sagist (þið), sagisti1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

sagaður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	sagaður	söguð	sagað	sagaðir	sagaðar	söguð
accusative (þolfall)	sagaðan	sagaða	sagað	sagaða	sagaðar	söguð
dative (þágufall)	söguðum	sagaðri	söguðu	söguðum	söguðum	söguðum
genitive (eignarfall)	sagaðs	sagaðrar	sagaðs	sagaðra	sagaðra	sagaðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	sagaði	sagaða	sagaða	söguðu	söguðu	söguðu
accusative (þolfall)	sagaða	söguðu	sagaða	söguðu	söguðu	söguðu
dative (þágufall)	sagaða	söguðu	sagaða	söguðu	söguðu	söguðu
genitive (eignarfall)	sagaða	söguðu	sagaða	söguðu	söguðu	söguðu

Etymology 3

Noun

saga

1. indefinite genitive plural of sög

Anagrams

• gasa

Indonesian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

Noun

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

Derived terms

• saga betina
• saga biji
• saga gajah
• saga kayu
• saga kenderi
• saga pohon
• saga rambat

• merah saga

Etymology 2

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

Noun

saga (plural saga-saga)

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

Derived terms

• saga transfer

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Nias [Term?].

Noun

saga (plural saga-saga)

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

Further reading

• “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

Iraqw

Etymology

Cognate with Burunge saga and Kw'adza sagiko.

Noun

saga m (plural sagee f)

1. (anatomy) head

Derived terms

• sageeda (“top”)

References

• Mous, Maarten; Qorro, Martha; Kießling, Roland (2002), Iraqw-English Dictionary (Kuschitische Sprachstudien), volume 18, Köln, Germany: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, →ISBN, page 78

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

Noun

saga f (plural saghe)

1. saga

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin sāga.

Noun

saga f (plural saghe)

1. (archaic, literary) witch

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

saga

1. singular feminine of sago

Anagrams

• gasa

Japanese

Romanization

saga

1. Rōmaji transcription of さが

Javanese

Romanization

saga

1. romanization of ꦱꦒ

Latin

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	sāga	sāgae
genitive	sāgae	sāgārum
dative	sāgae	sāgīs
accusative	sāgam	sāgās
ablative	sāgā	sāgīs
vocative	sāga	sāgae

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: saga
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Friulian: sagane
• Borrowings:
  • → Translingual: Saga

Etymology 2

Adjective

sāga

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

Adjective

sāgā

1. singular feminine ablative of sāgus

Etymology 3

Noun

saga n

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of sagum

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

Noun

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.

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	saga	sagae
genitive	sagae	sagārum
dative	sagae	sagīs
accusative	sagam	sagās
ablative	sagā	sagīs
vocative	saga	sagae

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

Noun

sagà f (plural sãgos) stress pattern 4

1. button

   sagas įsiūti - to sew buttons on

Declension

Declension of sagà

	singular	plural
nominative	sagà	sãgos
genitive	sagõs	sagų̃
dative	sãgai	sagóms
accusative	sãgą	sagàs
instrumental	sagà	sagomi̇̀s
locative	sagojè	sagosè
vocative	sãga	sãgos

Derived terms

• (diminutive nouns) sagelė, sagutė

Related terms

• (verb) segti

Etymology 2

From Old Norse.

Noun

sagà f (plural sãgos) stress pattern 2

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

Declension

Declension of sagà

	singular	plural
nominative	sagà	sãgos
genitive	sãgos	sãgų
dative	sãgai	sãgoms
accusative	sãgą	sagàs
instrumental	sagà	sãgomis
locative	sãgoje	sãgose
vocative	sãga	sãgos

Synonyms

• (legend): sakmė f

Anagrams

• gasa

Malay

Pronunciation

• (Literary Standard) 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

Etymology 1

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

Noun

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

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

Etymology 2

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”).

Noun

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

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

Further reading

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

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

Noun

saga m or f

1. definite feminine singular of sag

Verb

saga

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

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑː.ɡɑ/

Noun

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

1. a saga

Etymology 2

From sag (“saw”) +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²sɑː.ɡɑ/

Verb

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

1. to saw

Alternative forms

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

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑː.ɡɑ/

Noun

saga f

1. definite singular of sag

References

• “saga” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• gaas, gasa, saag

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑ.ɡɑ/, [ˈsɑ.ɣɑ]

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *sok-éh₂

Proto-Germanic *sagō

Proto-West Germanic *sagu

Old English saga

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).

Alternative forms

• sagu

Noun

saga m (nominative plural sagan)

1. saw (tool)

Descendants

• Middle English: sawe, zawe, sowe, sa, sae, sagh (northern)
  • English: saw
  • Scots: seg
  • Yola: zaawe

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-

Proto-Germanic *sagǭ

Proto-West Germanic *sagā

Old English saga

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

Noun

saga m (nominative plural sagan)

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

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	saga	sagan
accusative	sagan	sagan
genitive	sagan	sagena
dative	sagan	sagum

Related terms

• sagu

Etymology 3

Verb

saga

1. imperative of sagian

Old High German

Etymology

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

Noun

saga f

1. story

Descendants

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

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

Noun

saga

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

Descendants

• > Javanese: ꦱꦒ (saga) (inherited)

Old Norse

Etymology

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

Noun

saga f (genitive sǫgu, plural sǫgur)

1. story, history, legend, saga

Declension

Declension of saga (weak ōn-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	saga	sagan	sǫgur	sǫgurnar
accusative	sǫgu	sǫguna	sǫgur	sǫgurnar
dative	sǫgu	sǫgunni	sǫgum	sǫgunum
genitive	sǫgu	sǫgunnar	sagna	sagnanna

Descendants

• 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)

Further reading

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

Old Saxon

Etymology

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

Noun

saga f

1. statement, discourse, report

Declension

saga (feminine ō-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	saga	saga
accusative	saga	saga
genitive	saga, sagu, sago	sagono
dative	sagu, sago, saga	sagon, sagum, sagun
instrumental	—	—

Polish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡa/

• (Masovia):
  • (Far Masovian) IPA^(key): [ˈsa.ɡa]

• Audio:

  (file)

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

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Icelandic saga.

Noun

saga f (related adjective sagowy)

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

Declension

Declension of saga

	singular	plural
nominative	saga	sagi
genitive	sagi	sag
dative	sadze	sagom
accusative	sagę	sagi
instrumental	sagą	sagami
locative	sadze	sagach
vocative	sago	sagi

Etymology 2

See żaga.

Noun

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.

Further reading

• “saga”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[6] (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

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse saga.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡɐ/ [ˈsa.ɣɐ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡɐ/ [ˈsa.ɣɐ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ɡɐ/

• Rhymes: -aɡɐ
• Hyphenation: sa‧ga

Noun

saga f (plural sagas)

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

Further reading

• “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

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French saga.

Noun

saga f (uncountable)

1. saga

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	saga	sagaua
genitive-dative	—	-i
vocative	—

Sasak

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

Noun

saga

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Old Norse saga.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sȃga f (Cyrillic spelling са̑га)

1. saga

Declension

Declension of saga

	singular	plural
nominative	saga	sage
genitive	sage	saga
dative	sagi	sagama
accusative	sagu	sage
vocative	sago	sage
locative	sagi	sagama
instrumental	sagom	sagama

Spanish

Etymology

From Old Norse saga.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

saga f (plural sagas)

1. saga
   • 2019 February 17, Francisco Martínez Hoyos, “10 idiomas que se crearon de la nada”, in La Vanguardia‎^[7]:

     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)

Further reading

• “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

Sundanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga.

Noun

saga (Sundanese spelling ᮞᮃᮃᮌᮃᮃ)

1. jequirity (Abrus precatorius)

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

-saga (infinitive kusaga)

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

Conjugation

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.

Derived terms

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

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

Swedish

Etymology

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

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.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

saga c

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

   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]

   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.

Declension

Declension of saga

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	saga	sagas
	definite	sagan	sagans
plural	indefinite	sagor	sagors
	definite	sagorna	sagornas

Derived terms

• folksaga
• godnattsaga
• gudasaga
• Saga (female given name)
• sagatid
• sagoaktig
• sagoberättare
• sagobok
• sagoförtäljare
• sagoland
• sagolik
• sagoprins
• sagostund

Descendants

• → Finnish: saaga

References

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

Anagrams

• agas

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *saga (“a vine and the seeds of its fruit: Abrus precatorius”). Compare Malay saga.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sagà (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜄ)

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

   Synonyms: bangati, kansasaga

Derived terms

• saga-saga

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɡa/ [ˈsaː.ɣ̠ɐ]
• Rhymes: -aɡa
• Syllabification: sa‧ga

Numeral

saga (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜄ) (obsolete)

1. eight

   Synonyms: walo, otso

Usage notes

• Fr. Noceda & Fr. Sanlucar (1860) mentioned a series of the first ten numerals, which they said to be used in the ancient times. Numbers in the series from 1-10 were: isain, duwain, mampat, agiw, tundong, kala, manapit, saga, bulaid, and turo. However, according to Blake (1907), the series was hardly possible to be more ancient because the series does not follow the common property of the Malayo-Polynesian family. Furthermore, Brandsetter (1902), thought that Fr. Noceda & Fr. Sanlucar misunderstood, and they represented a series of secret numbers or the numerals of another language.

Further reading

• “saga”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “saga”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de; Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves, y coordinado por…, ultimamente aumentado y corregido por varios religiosos de la Orden de Agustinos calzados.‎^[8] (overall work in Spanish and Classical Tagalog), Manila: Ramírez y Giraudier.
• Blake, Frank R. (1907), “Contributions to Comparative Philippine Grammar, II”, in Journal of the American Oriental Society‎^[9], volume 28, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 199–253
• Brandstetter, Renward (1902), Tagalen und Madagassen: eine sprachvergleichende Darstellung als Orientierung für Ethnographen und Sprachforscher‎^[10], Geschw. Doleschal, Nachfolger J. Eisenring, page 10
• Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2016), Numbers and Units in Old Tagalog, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 22

Anagrams

• gasa, agas, gaas

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from English saga, ultimately from Old Norse saga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɑɡɑ]

Noun

saga (definite accusative sagayı, plural sagalar)

1. Old Norse (Icelandic) saga

Declension

Declension of saga

singular plural nominative saga sagalar definite accusative sagayı sagaları dative sagaya sagalara locative sagada sagalarda ablative sagadan sagalardan genitive saganın sagaların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular sagam sagalarım 2nd singular sagan sagaların 3rd singular sagası sagaları 1st plural sagamız sagalarımız 2nd plural saganız sagalarınız 3rd plural sagaları sagaları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular sagamı sagalarımı 2nd singular saganı sagalarını 3rd singular sagasını sagalarını 1st plural sagamızı sagalarımızı 2nd plural saganızı sagalarınızı 3rd plural sagalarını sagalarını dative singular plural 1st singular sagama sagalarıma 2nd singular sagana sagalarına 3rd singular sagasına sagalarına 1st plural sagamıza sagalarımıza 2nd plural saganıza sagalarınıza 3rd plural sagalarına sagalarına locative singular plural 1st singular sagamda sagalarımda 2nd singular saganda sagalarında 3rd singular sagasında sagalarında 1st plural sagamızda sagalarımızda 2nd plural saganızda sagalarınızda 3rd plural sagalarında sagalarında ablative singular plural 1st singular sagamdan sagalarımdan 2nd singular sagandan sagalarından 3rd singular sagasından sagalarından 1st plural sagamızdan sagalarımızdan 2nd plural saganızdan sagalarınızdan 3rd plural sagalarından sagalarından genitive singular plural 1st singular sagamın sagalarımın 2nd singular saganın sagalarının 3rd singular sagasının sagalarının 1st plural sagamızın sagalarımızın 2nd plural saganızın sagalarınızın 3rd plural sagalarının sagalarının

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈs̪a.ɡa/

Noun

saga

1. branch
2. junction of paths

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[11], Pacific linguistics