sá

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sa"

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɔɑː
• Homophone: sáð

Etymology 1

From Old Norse séa, sjá, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną.

Verb

sá

1. first-person singular past of síggja

   eg kom, sá og sigraði

   vēnī, vīdī, vīcī (Julius Caesar)

2. third-person singular past of síggja

Etymology 2

From Old Norse sá, a descendant from Proto-Germanic *sa, from Proto-Indo-European *só. Related to Old Norse sjá.

Pronoun

sá (feminine sú, neuter tað)

1. (obsolete, demonstrative) that, that one, he (referring to something or someone which is about to be specified further or has just been mentioned)

Declension

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	tann (sá)†	tann (sú)†	tað
accusative	tann	ta (tí) (tá)†
dative	tí (tann) (teim)†	teirri / tí	tí
genitive	tess	teirrar	tess
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	teir	tær	tey
accusative	teir (tá)†
dative	teimum (teim)†
genitive	teirra

† obsolete

Anagrams

• ás

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sauː/
• Rhymes: -auː

Etymology 1

From Old Norse sá (“to sow”), from Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-.

Verb

sá (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative sáði, supine sáð)

1. to sow

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse sá, a descendant from Proto-Germanic *sa, from Proto-Indo-European *só. Related to Old Norse sjá.

Pronoun

sá (feminine sú, neuter það) (demonstrative)

1. that (one), the (one), he
   1. (attributive) (referring to something or someone which is about to be specified further or has just been mentioned)

      Near-synonym: þessi

      sá maður ― that man

      bók sú að Gerpla heitir ― the book that is called Gerpla

      Ég fann ekki það barn. ― I didn't find that child.

   2. (predicatively)

      sá okkar ― the one of us

      það af ykkur ― that (part) of you

   3. (predicatively, emphatic) (in critique, irony)

      Sá er nógu ríkur til þess! ― He's rich enough for it! (ie. has enough money to spend recklessly)

      Sá skal nú fá fyrir ferðina! ― Now he's going to pay! (having done something deserving of punishment)

      Sú er góð! ― She's proud of herself! (having done something ill-advised)

      Sá er góður ― That's a good one (eg. said of a joke or clever phrasing)

2. (proscribed, colloquial) the (with dates)

   þann 30. ágúst ― on the 30th of August

3. (as an intensifier)
   1. such, quite

      Near-synonyms: slíkur, þvílíkur, hvaða (colloquial)

      Ég var sá asni að trúa þér ― I was such a fool to believe you.

   2. (exclamative, especially with en) what

      Synonym: hvílíkur

      En sá asni! ― What an idiot!

      En það veður ― What weather!

4. (obsolete, emphatic) (with the free article)

   sá hinn mikli maður ― this great man

   vegna þess hins ógæfusama manns ― for this ill-fated man

5. the (like the definite article, often with a positive or superlative degree adjective)

   Near-synonym: hinn

   • Halldór Laxness, chapter 10, in Íslandsklukkan [Iceland's bell], Íslandsklukkan, page 83:

     Ef hann skyldi halda þú hafir stolið þessum hríng, þá ber þú honum kveðju frá því ljósa mani; frá álfakroppinum mjóa; - þau orð hafa ekki farið víðar.

     If he should think that you have stolen this ring, then tell him the fair maiden sent you; the thin elf; - word has not yet spread everywhere.

   sá gamli maður ― the old man

   sú stærsta bók sem ég hef séð ― the biggest book that I've seen

   með þeim bestu sauðajörðum ― with the best sheep pastures

   sá gamli kölski ― Old Scratch

   sá grái ― shark

   sá guli ― cod

   sá rauði ― golden redfish

   sá blái ― Atlantic catfish

   sá silfraði ― salmon

   í það (sama) skipti/í sama skipti/skiptið þá ― at the (same) time

6. (archaic) which, who (as a relative pronoun)

   Near-synonym: sem

   hann missti son sinn, þann Snjólfur hét ― he lost his son who was named Snjólfur

7. (predicative) (with a conjunction in a relative clause)

   þetta er sú sem var í fallega kjólnum ― that's (the one) who was in the beautiful dress

   ástæðan er sú að... ― the reason is (such) that...

   staðreyndin er sú að... ― the fact is (such) that...

   sannleikurinn er sá að... ― the truth is (such) that...

Declension

Positive forms of sá (strong-only)

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	sá	sú	það
accusative	þann	þá
dative	þeim	þeirri	því
genitive	þess	þeirrar	þess
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	þeir	þær	þau
accusative	þá
dative	þeim
genitive	þeirra

Derived terms

• sá sami

Alternative forms

• þann (14-17th centuries)

Etymology 3

See sjá.

Verb

sá

1. [he/she/it] saw, first- or third-person singular indicative past tense of sjá (“to see”)
2. [I] saw, first- or third-person singular indicative past tense of sjá (“to see”)

Anagrams

• ás

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “sá”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “sá” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Irish

Alternative forms

• sáthadh (Ulster, obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /sˠɑː/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈsˠaːhu/ (corresponding to the form sáthadh)

Noun

sá m (genitive singular as substantive sá, genitive as verbal noun sáite, nominative plural sáite)

1. verbal noun of sáigh

   Synonym: ropadh

2. a thrust, stab

   Synonym: rop

3. push, press
4. dart, lunge
5. stake

Declension

As substantive

Declension of sá (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative sá sáite vocative a shá a sháite genitive sá sáite dative sá sáite forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an sá na sáite genitive an tsá na sáite dative leis an sá don sá leis na sáite

As verbal noun

Declension of sá (third declension, no plural)

bare forms singular nominative sá vocative a shá genitive sáite dative sá forms with the definite article singular nominative an sá genitive an tsáite dative leis an sá don sá

Derived terms

• sá-phlána m (“thrust-plane”)

Verb

sá

1. analytic present subjunctive of sáigh

Mutation

Mutated forms of sá

radical	lenition	eclipsis
sá	shá after an, tsá	not applicable

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “sá”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “sá”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “sá”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 65

Khiamniungan Naga

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa⁵⁵/

Verb

sá

1. (Patsho) to stick an elongated object into a hole or pit intentionally or unintentionally.

   khakik nüko jüho sa thiu va nye

   my leg got sticked in a hole

   jujieliangko pai nü tsho nüleu apem lü sa thiu va

   please stick it in all the firewoods in the basket

Old Norse

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *sa, from Proto-Indo-European *só. Related to Old Norse sjá.

Pronoun

sá (feminine sú, neuter þat)

1. this, that

Declension

Old Norse demonstrative pronouns

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	sá	sú	þat
accusative	þann	þá	þat
dative	þeim	þeirri	því, þí
genitive	þess	þeirrar	þess
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	þeir	þær	þau
accusative	þá	þær	þau
dative	þeim	þeim	þeim
genitive	þeira, þeirra	þeira, þeirra	þeira, þeirra

Descendants

• Icelandic: sá
• Faroese: sá
• Old Swedish: sa

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-. Compare Old English sāwan (English sow), Old Saxon sāian, Old High German sāen, sāwen (German säen), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (saian).

Verb

sá

2. to sow

Conjugation

Conjugation of sá — active (strong class 7, weak inflection in past tense)

infinitive	sá
present participle	sáandi
past participle	sáinn
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	sæ	sera, søra		sá	sera, søra
2nd person singular	sær	serir, sørir		sáir	serir, sørir
3rd person singular	sær	seri, søri		sái	seri, søri
1st person plural	sám	serum, sørum		sáim	serim, sørim
2nd person plural	sáið	seruð, søruð		sáið	serið, sørið
3rd person plural	sá	seru, søru		sái	seri, søri
imperative	present
2nd person singular	sá
1st person plural	sám
2nd person plural	sáið

Conjugation of sá — mediopassive (strong class 7, weak inflection in past tense)

infinitive	sásk
present participle	sáandisk
past participle	sáizk
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	sámk	serumk, sørumk		sámk	serumk, sørumk
2nd person singular	sæsk	serisk, sørisk		sáisk	serisk, sørisk
3rd person singular	sæsk	serisk, sørisk		sáisk	serisk, sørisk
1st person plural	sámsk	serumsk, sørumsk		sáimsk	serimsk, sørimsk
2nd person plural	sáizk	seruzk, søruzk		sáizk	serizk, sørizk
3rd person plural	sáask	serusk, sørusk		sáisk	serisk, sørisk
imperative	present
2nd person singular	sásk
1st person plural	sámsk
2nd person plural	sáizk

Descendants

• Danish: så
• Faroese: sáa
• Icelandic: sá
• Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: så
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: så
• Swedish: så

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sá

1. first/third-person singular past active indicative of sjá

Tetum

Pronoun

sá

1. what

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [saː˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂaː˨˩˦] ~ [saː˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʂaː˦˥] ~ [saː˦˥]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Vietic *k-raːʔ, from Proto-Austroasiatic *kraʔ (“path”). Cognate with Muong khá, Pacoh carna (through an infixed form), Chong kraː and Proto-Palaungic *kraːʔ.

Possibly cognate with Old Chinese 道 (OC *[kə.l]ˤuʔ) (B-S) (SV: đạo), and less certainly, Old Chinese 路 (OC *Cə.rˤak-s) (B-S) (SV: lộ).

Alternative forms

• xá

Noun

sá • (詫, 垞)

1. (obsolete) road

   Synonym: đường

   • 13th century, Trần Nhân Tông, Cư Trần lạc đạo phú 居塵樂道賦, Đệ thất hội 第七會:

     學(Học)隊(đòi)機(cơ)祖(tổ)詫(sá)禪(thiền)空(không)坤(khôn)卒(chút)別(biết)尼(nơi)

     By learning after the fore-elder's methods, on the path of Zen it shall not be any bit hard to know where.

Usage notes

• sá is the native Vietnamese word that has been displaced by the more common loanword đường, but remains fossilised in compounds such as đường sá (“roads”), sá cày (“furrow”), the latter of which is again contracted to sá in the idiom trâu quá sá, mạ quá thì (“to be past one's prime”, literally “buffalo beyond [the age to plough] the furrow, rice seedlings beyond the time [to sow]”).

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

sá • (吒, 咤, 詫)

1. (dated, chiefly in the negative or rhetorical) to mind, to care

   Synonyms: quản, màng, lo

   • 13th century, Trần Nhân Tông, Cư Trần lạc đạo phú 居塵樂道賦, Đệ nhị hội 第二會:

     倿(Cầm)戒(giới)行(hạnh)敵(địch)無(vô)常(thường)儍(nào)固(có)詫(sá)求(cầu)名(danh)半(bán)角(chác)

     One keeps precepts and virtues, and defies impermanence, not at all caring to seek reputation in a venal manner (literally, “seek reputation to buy and sell”).

   • 1941, “Tiếng gọi thanh niên”, Hoàng Mai Lưu (lyrics), Lưu Hữu Phước (music)‎^[1]performed by The Voice of Vietnam's Men's and Women's Choir:

     Này anh em ơi, tiến lên đến ngày giải phóng!
     Đồng lòng cùng đi, đi, đi! Sá gì thân sống?

     Brothers and sisters, march forth towards liberation's day!
     Let's go together! What do we care about our lives?