saw

saw

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Pronunciation

The word "saw" can function as both a noun and a verb. Here's a breakdown:

IPA Phonetic Spelling and Syllable Breakdown:

• saw /sɔː/

• One syllable:

• /s/ - voiceless alveolar sibilant

• /ɔː/ - open-mid back rounded vowel

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Word Form Variations

Noun:

• Singular: saw

• Plural: saws

Verb:

• Base Form: saw

• Present Participle: sawing

• Past Tense: sawed (or sawn, less common in modern English but still used)

• Past Participle: sawed (or sawn)

• Third-person singular present: saws

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Noun

1. A hand tool or power tool with a toothed blade or disc, used for cutting hard materials such as wood, metal, or plastic.

• Synonyms: cutter, hacksaw, jigsaw, ripsaw, handsaw, chainsaw

• Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for a tool, but one could consider tools for joining or shaping rather than cutting) joiner, hammer (in the context of not cutting)

2. A proverb or maxim; a traditional saying.

• Synonyms: adage, aphorism, proverb, saying, maxim, dictum

• Antonyms: nonsense, absurdity, gibberish

Verb

1. To cut (material) with a saw.

• Synonyms: cut, carve, dissect, sever, cleave

• Antonyms: join, unite, connect, mend, fuse

2. To move something back and forth in a motion resembling that of a saw.

• Synonyms: oscillate, reciprocate, move to and fro, swing

• Antonyms: still, halt, stabilize, fix

3. (Past tense of 'see') To have perceived with the eyes; to have noticed or understood.

• Synonyms: viewed, observed, noticed, perceived, discerned, witnessed

• Antonyms: missed, overlooked, ignored, unseen, unheard

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Examples of Use

Newspapers/Online Publications:

• "The carpenter quickly sawed through the plank, preparing it for the new deck railing." (Local Newspaper)

• "Analysts saw a slight uptick in consumer spending last quarter, a positive sign for the economy." (Financial Times)

• "The headline declared, 'Police Saw Increase in Local Burglaries,' prompting a community meeting." (Online News Outlet)

Books:

• "He saw the distant mountains, their peaks capped with snow, a sight that always filled him with a sense of awe." (From a contemporary novel)

• "The old saw 'look before you leap' proved true once again when the adventurous traveler encountered unexpected obstacles." (From a collection of proverbs)

Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:

• Television Series Dialogue: "Did you saw that? The killer just disappeared into thin air!" (From a crime drama episode)

• Movie Review: "Critics saw the film as a groundbreaking achievement in cinematography, praising its stunning visual effects." (Online Movie Review Site)

• Song Lyrics: "I saw a light, a beacon in the night, guiding me home." (From a popular song)

• Video Game Description: "Players must use a heavy-duty saw to dismantle abandoned vehicles for parts." (Video Game Store Page)

General Public Discourse:

• "I saw your post on social media; it was really insightful." (Informal conversation)

• "My grandfather always used to say, 'A stitch in time saves nine.' It's an old saw but still relevant." (Family discussion)

• "We saw a lot of tourists downtown this weekend, which is great for local businesses." (Community discussion)

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10 Quotes Using Saw

1. "I came, I saw, I conquered." (Julius Caesar)

2. "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." (Michelangelo)

3. "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." (Rabindranath Tagore)

4. "Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why." (Bernard Baruch)

5. "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself." (D. H. Lawrence)

6. "Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something." (Steve Jobs)

7. "If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim." (Margaret Thatcher)

8. "I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness." (George Fox)

9. "A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." (John Calvin)

10. "I didn't like the play, but then I saw it under adverse conditions - the curtain was up." (Groucho Marx)

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Etymology

The word "saw" has a fascinating history, tracing its roots back to ancient times.

Let's break it down by its two main meanings:

1. The Tool (Noun) and The Act of Cutting (Verb):

• Origin: This meaning of "saw" comes from a very old Germanic word, something like "*sago" or "*saga," which referred to a cutting tool. This word itself likely came from an even older Proto-Indo-European root, "*sek-", meaning "to cut."

• First Known Use/Meaning: In Old English (the language spoken in England from about the 5th to the 11th century), the word was "sagu" for the tool. It essentially meant "a tool with a toothed edge for cutting." The verb form, meaning "to cut with such a tool," also appeared around the same time, developing directly from the noun. So, from its very beginning, the word has been connected to cutting with a specific kind of tool.

2. Past Tense of "See" (Verb):

• Origin: This "saw" has a completely different origin! It's the past tense of the verb "to see." Its roots go back to another Old English word, "seah," which was the past tense of "seon" (to see). This "seon" also came from an ancient Proto-Germanic word, "*sehwan," and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root, "*sekʷ-" (yes, a different one from the "cutting" root!), meaning "to follow with the eyes" or "to perceive."

• First Known Use/Meaning: As the past tense of "see," "saw" has been used in English since the Old English period. Its meaning has consistently been "to have perceived with the eyes" or "to have understood."

In simple terms:

Imagine two separate word families, one about cutting tools and the other about looking. Over time, both families developed a word that ended up sounding exactly the same in modern English: "saw." It's a coincidence of language evolution, not because the acts of cutting and seeing are directly related!

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Saw

• Saw red: To become very angry.

• Saw logs: To snore loudly.

• Saw wood: To work hard and steadily, often with the sound of sawing.

• Old saw: An old and well-known proverb or maxim.

• See-saw: A long plank balanced on a central support, used as a children's game; also, to move up and down or back and forth.

• Sawbones: (Informal, somewhat old-fashioned) A surgeon or doctor.

• Saw the light: To finally understand something or convert to a particular belief.

• Saw it coming: To anticipate an event, often an unpleasant one.

• Never saw eye to eye: To disagree with someone.

• Saw your way clear (to do something): To find it possible or acceptable to do something

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of saw from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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