entry
saga
/ˈsɑːɡə/A long, legendary, often interconnected story
From O.Norse saga (Saying).
from Old Norse saga "saga, story," cognate with Old English sagu "a saying" (see saw (n.2)). Properly a long narrative...
from Old Norse saga "saga, story," cognate with Old English sagu "a saying" (see saw (n.2)). Properly a long narrative...
Word Ancestry
from Old Norse saga "saga, story," cognate with Old English sagu "a saying" (see saw (n.2)). Properly a long narrative...
from Old Norse saga "saga, story," cognate with Old English sagu "a saying" (see saw (n.2)). Properly a long narrative...
In medieval Iceland, a saga was not merely a fireside fantasy but a carefully shaped prose account of families, feuds, voyages, and violent misunderstandings. The Old Norse word saga meant “a saying” or “story,” making it a close cousin of Old English sagu and, more surprisingly, modern English saw—the noun meaning a proverb or wise saying. Centuries later, English antiquarians revived saga in 1709 to label the long narratives preserved in Iceland and Norway. By 1857, English speakers had stretched it beyond Scandinavia to mean any long, tangled story, even one involving no Vikings at all. So when a family argument, political scandal, or television franchise becomes a saga, it still carries the ghost of someone sitting down to tell what happened—only now the tale may include spreadsheets, subpoenas, or twelve seasons of cliff-hangers.
The Story
In medieval Iceland, a saga was not merely a fireside fantasy but a carefully shaped prose account of families, feuds, voyages, and violent misunderstandings. The Old Norse word saga meant “a saying” or “story,” making it a close cousin of Old English sagu and, more surprisingly, modern English saw—the noun meaning a proverb or wise saying. Centuries later, English antiquarians revived saga in 1709 to label the long narratives preserved in Iceland and Norway. By 1857, English speakers had stretched it beyond Scandinavia to mean any long, tangled story, even one involving no Vikings at all. So when a family argument, political scandal, or television franchise becomes a saga, it still carries the ghost of someone sitting down to tell what happened—only now the tale may include spreadsheets, subpoenas, or twelve seasons of cliff-hangers.
Modern Usage
A local nickname for LeTourneau University’s dining hall, according to a user-submitted slang entry.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry describing LeTourneau University dining hall
Kin & Kindred
From 'saga'·Saying, story, or narrative
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia