different between seem vs saw
seem
English
Alternative forms
- seme (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English semen (“to seem, befit, be becoming”), from Old Norse sœma (“to conform to, beseem, befit”), from Proto-Germanic *s?mijan? (“to unite, fit”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; whole”). Cognate with Scots seme (“to be fitting; beseem”), Danish sømme (“to beseem”), Old Swedish søma, Faroese søma (“to be proper”). Related also to Old Norse sómi (“honour”) ( > archaic Danish somme (“decent comportment”)), Old Norse sœmr (“fitting, seemly”), Old English s?man (“to reconcile, bring an agreement”), Old English s?m (“agreement”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /si?m/
- Rhymes: -i?m
- Homophones: seam, seme
Verb
seem (third-person singular simple present seems, present participle seeming, simple past and past participle seemed)
- (copulative) To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.
- 1460-1500, The Towneley Plays?
- He is so fair, without lease, he seems full well to sit on this.
- 1813 (14thc.), Dante Alighieri, The Vision of Hell as translated by The Rev. H. F. Cary.
- He, from his face removing the gross air, / Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and seem'd alone / By that annoyance wearied.
- 1460-1500, The Towneley Plays?
- (obsolete) To befit; to beseem.
Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms
- meseems
- seeming
- seemingly
- seemly
- seemlihood
- seemliness
Translations
Anagrams
- Esme, Esmé, emes, mese, seme, semé, smee
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch s?m, from Proto-Germanic *saimaz.
Noun
sêem m
- honey
Inflection
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
- Dutch: zeem
- West Flemish: zêem
Further reading
- “seem”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “seem”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN
seem From the web:
- what seems to be the officer problem
- what seems to have motivated mccarthyism
- what seems right to a man
- what seems to be your boggle
- what seems to happen to memory on mars
- what seems to be the original purpose of the lottery
- what seems illegal but isn't
- whats seems to be the officer problem
saw
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: sô, IPA(key): /s??/
- Homophones: (in some non-rhotic accents): soar, sore
- Rhymes: -??
- (US) enPR: sô, IPA(key): /s?/
- (cot–caught merger) enPR: sä, IPA(key): /s??/
- (idiosyncratic, past tense of 'see') IPA(key): /s??l/
Etymology 1
The noun from Middle English sawe, sawgh, from Old English saga, sagu (“saw”), from Proto-Germanic *sagô, *sag? (“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 sec? (“cut”) and Italian sega (“saw”).
The verb from Middle English sawen, from the noun above.
Noun
saw (plural saws)
- A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard substances, in particular wood or metal
- A musical saw.
- A sawtooth wave.
Derived terms
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: sa
Translations
Verb
saw (third-person singular simple present saws, present participle sawing, simple past sawed, past participle sawed or sawn)
- (transitive) To cut (something) with a saw.
- They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
- (intransitive) To make a motion back and forth similar to cutting something with a saw.
- The fiddler sawed away at his instrument.
- (intransitive) To be cut with a saw.
- The timber saws smoothly.
- (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
Derived terms
- saw gourds
- saw wood
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English sawe, from Old English sagu, saga (“story, tale, saying, statement, report, narrative, tradition”), from Proto-West Germanic *sag?, from Proto-Germanic *sag?, *sag? (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek?e-, *sk??-, from *sek?- (“to follow”). 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.
Noun
saw (plural saws)
- (obsolete) Something spoken; speech, discourse.
- 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 […].
- And for thy trew sawys, and I may lyve many wynters, there was never no knyght better rewardid […].
- A saying or proverb.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:saying
- 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 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.
- (obsolete) Opinion, idea, belief.
- (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.
- c. 1350-1400, unknown, The Erl of Toulous
- (obsolete) Dictate; command; decree.
- 1595, Edmund Spenser, Colin Clouts Come Home Againe
- [Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
- 1595, Edmund Spenser, Colin Clouts Come Home Againe
Derived terms
- soothsaw
- withsaw
Translations
Etymology 3
Verb
saw
- simple past tense of see
- (colloquial, nonstandard) past participle of see
Interjection
saw
- (slang) What's up (either as a greeting or actual question).
Anagrams
- ASW, AWS, Was, aws, was
Atong (India)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s?aw/
Adjective
saw (Bengali script ???)
- rotten
Khasi
Etymology
From Proto-Khasian *sa?w, an innovation of the Khasian branch. Cognate with Pnar soo.
Numeral
saw
- four
Middle English
Noun
saw
- saw
- 1387', Ranulf Higden, John of Trevisa (translator), 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.
- Þe more comoun sawe is þat Remus was i-slawe for he leep ouer þe newe walles of Rome.
- 1387', Ranulf Higden, John of Trevisa (translator), Polychronicon
Northern Kurdish
Noun
saw ?
- terror
- horror
Scots
Pronunciation
- (Doric and most Southern Scots dialects) IPA(key): /sa/
- (Central and some Southern Scots dialects) IPA(key): /s?/
Etymology 1
Verb
saw
- (South Scots) simple past tense of sei
- (Northern and Central) simple past tense of see
Etymology 2
Noun
saw (plural saws)
- A salve.
Zhuang
Pronunciation
- (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /?a???/
- Tone numbers: saw1
- Hyphenation: saw
Etymology 1
From Proto-Tai *s??? (“writing; book”), from Middle Chinese ? (MC ???, “writing; book”). Cognate with Lao ?? (s??), Thai ??? (s???).
Alternative forms
- sw
Noun
saw (Sawndip forms ???? or ? or ???? or ????, old orthography s??)
- written language; writing; script
- (Chinese) character
- word
- book
- teaching material
- receipt; voucher
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Tai *sa?? (“clear; clean”). Cognate with Thai ?? (s?i), Northern Thai ??, Isan ??, Lao ?? (sai), Lü ?? (?ay), Tai Dam ??, Shan ??? (s?ue), Tai Nüa ??? (sáue), Ahom ???????? (saw) or ???????????? (sawu).
Adjective
saw (Sawndip forms ???? or ???? or ?, old orthography s??)
- clean
- (of transparent objects, water, etc.) clear
- (of liquids other than water) watery; thin
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from ??”)
Verb
saw (Sawndip forms ???? or ?, old orthography s??)
- to lose
saw From the web:
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- what saw palmetto good for
- what saw is used to cut metal
- what saw to use to cut wood
- what saw blade to cut hardie board
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- what saw blade to cut laminate flooring
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