Etymology

besay

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Today it means: To say about (someone or something); get something across verbally or by saying; relay; signify; declare. Full definition →

Middle English besayen ← Old English beseċġan ← Proto-Germanic *bisagjaną
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bisagjaną
  2. Old English · inherited frombeseċġan“to announce, introduce; defend, excuse oneself; accuse”
  3. Middle English · inherited frombesayen
  4. English todaybesay

From Middle English besayen, biseggen, from Old English beseċġan (“to announce, introduce; defend, excuse oneself; accuse”), from Proto-Germanic *bisagjaną, equivalent to be- (“about, concerning, across”) + say. Cognate with Dutch bezeggen, German besagen (“to say”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.