see
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: sē, IPA(key): /ˈsiː/
Audio (to see) (RP) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsi/
Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- Homophones: C, cee, sea, Seay
Etymology 1
From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon (“to see, look, behold, perceive, observe, discern, understand, know”), from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”).
Verb
see (third-person singular simple present sees, present participle seeing, simple past saw or (dialectal) seen or (dialectal) seent or (dialectal) seed, past participle seen or (dialectal) seent or (dialectal) seed or (dialectal) saw)
- (transitive) To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt's Patients, page 18:
- Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path. […] It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
- 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
- But Richmond […] appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw […] that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- I want to see this house!
Audio (US) (file)
- I want to see this house!
- To witness or observe by personal experience.
- Hyponyms: experience, suffer
- Now I've seen it all!
- I have been blind since birth and I love to read Braille. When the books arrive in from the library, I can’t wait to see what stories they have sent me.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, John 8:51, column 1:
- Uerely, verely I ſay vnto you, If a man keepe my ſaying, hee ſhall neuer ſee death.
- 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, OCLC 1057107260, page 434:
- […] And remember this, 'scape-gallows,' said Ralph, menacing him with his hand, 'that if we meet again, and you so much as notice me by one begging gesture, you shall see the inside of a jail once more […]
- To watch (a movie) at a cinema, or a show on television etc.
- I saw the latest Tarantino flick last week.
-
- To form a mental picture of.
- 2013 August 23, Mark Cocker, “Wings of Desire”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 28:
- It is not just that we see birds as little versions of ourselves. It is also that, at the same time, they stand outside any moral process. They are utterly indifferent. This absolute oblivion on their part, this lack of sharing, is powerful.
- 2014 October 14, David Malcolm, “The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical Fiction”, in Martin Löschnigg; Marzena Sokolowska-Paryz, editors, The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG., →ISBN, page 173:
- The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is seen as key in all three discussions of allohistorical fiction (as it is in Demandt's and Ferguson's examinations of allohistory) (cf. Rodiek 25–26; Ritter 15–16; Helbig 32).
- (figuratively) To understand.
- Do you see what I mean?
- 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
- Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […] . Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming […] . A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul.
- To come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled.
- They're blind to the damage they do, but someday they'll see.
- (transitive) To foresee, predict, or prophesy.
- The oracle saw the destruction of the city.
- 1967, Alan Gordon & Garry Bonner (lyrics and music), “Happy Together”, performed by The Turtles:
- I can't see me lovin' nobody but you / For all my life / When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue / For all my life
- (used in the imperative) Used to emphasise a proposition.
- You see, Johnny, your Dad isn't your real father.
- You're not welcome here any more, see?
-
- (social) To meet, to visit.
- To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.
- to go to see a friend
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Samuel 15:35, column 2:
- And Samuel came no more to ſee Saul vntill the day of his death: neuertheleſſe, Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king ouer Iſrael.
- To date frequently.
- I've been seeing her for two months.
- 2022 September 9, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Sep 9, 2022:
- "You're... remarrying? I didn't even know you were seeing someone. And she's going to live here?"
- To visit for a medical appointment.
- You should see a doctor about that rash on your arm.
- I've been seeing a therapist for three years now.
- To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.
- (transitive; ergative) To be the setting or time of.
- The 20th century saw humanity's first space exploration.
- 1999 saw the release of many great films.
- 1995 June 3, David Sprague, “Buffalo Tom Reaches Crossroads: EastWest Trio At Make-Or-Break Point”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 22, page 9:
- It seems as if every passing year sees the mainstream embrace a longtime cult-favorite alternative rock band.
- (by extension) To ensure that something happens, especially while witnessing it.
- I'll see you hang for this! I saw that they didn't make any more trouble.
- (transitive) To wait upon; attend, escort.
- I saw the old lady safely across the road.
- You can see yourself out.
- (gambling, transitive) To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.
- I'll see your twenty dollars and raise you ten.
- To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if or whether).
- I'll come over later and see if I can fix your computer.
- You think I can't beat you in a race, eh? We'll see.
- (used in the imperative) To reference or to study for further details.
- Step 4: In the system, check out the laptop to the student (see: "Logging Resources" in the Tutor Manual).
- For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C.
- To examine something closely, or to utilize something, often as a temporary alternative.
- Can I see that lighter for a second? Mine just quit working.
- To include as one of something's experiences.
- The equipment has not seen usage outside of our projects.
- I saw military service in Vietnam.
Conjugation
infinitive | (to) see | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | see | saw | |
2nd-person singular | see, seest† | saw, sawest† | |
3rd-person singular | sees, seeth† | saw | |
plural | see | ||
subjunctive | see | saw | |
imperative | see | — | |
participles | seeing | seen |
†Archaic or obsolete.
Synonyms
- (perceive with the eyes): behold, descry, espy, observe, view
- (understand): follow, get, understand
- (date frequently): go out; see also Thesaurus:date
Derived terms
- aftersee
- besee
- foresee, forsee
- have seen one's day
- insee
- missee
- outsee
- oversee
- see a man about a dog
- see coming
- see for
- see Naples and die
- see one's way clear to
- see past the end of one's nose
- see someone right
- see stars
- see the light of day
- see things
- see-through, see through
- see to
- see you in the funny papers
- undersee
- unsee
Translations
|
|
|
Interjection
see
- Introducing an explanation
- See, in order to win the full prize we would have to come up with a scheme to land a rover on the Moon.
- Synonyms: look, well, so
Translations
|
See also
- look
- sight
- watch
Etymology 2
From Middle English se, see, from Old French sie (“seat, throne; town, capital; episcopal see”), from Latin sedes (“seat”), referring to the bishop's throne or chair (compare seat of power) in the cathedral; related to the Latin verb sedere (“to sit”).
Noun
see (plural sees)
- a diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop, especially an archbishop.
- The office of a bishop or archbishop; bishopric or archbishopric
- A seat; a site; a place where sovereign power is exercised.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, stanza 2, page 478:
- Ioue laught on Venus from his ſouerayne ſee
-
Derived terms
- Holy See
Related terms
- seat
- sedentary
- sit
Translations
|
|
|
See also
- cathedra
- cathedral
- chair
- throne
Further reading
- see on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- -ese, ESE, Ese, ees, ese
Afrikaans
Alternative forms
- sé (obsolete)
Etymology
From Dutch zee, from Middle Dutch sêe, from Old Dutch sēo, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɪə/, /zɪə/
Audio (file)
Noun
see (plural seë)
- sea
- Laasweek het ons see toe gegaan.
- Last week we went to the sea.
- Die trekvoëls vlieg oor die berge, oor die see, Lapland toe.
- The migratory birds are flying over the mountains, over the sea, to Sápmi.
Derived terms
- seekoei
- seesout
- seevis
- seevoël
- seewater
Estonian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *se, ultimately from Proto-Uralic *śe. cognate to Finnish se, Votic se, Erzya се (se, “this, that”), Khanty си (si, “that over yonder; now, then”), and Nganasan [script needed] (sete, “he, she”).
Pronoun
see (genitive selle, partitive seda)
- this
- it
- (colloquial, somewhat rude) he, she (usually only used when said person is not present)
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | see | need |
genitive | selle | nende |
partitive | seda | neid |
illative | sellesse / sesse | nendesse / neisse |
inessive | selles / ses | nendes / neis |
elative | sellest / sest | nendest / neist |
allative | sellele | nendele / neile |
adessive | sellel / sel | nendel / neil |
ablative | sellelt / selt | nendelt / neilt |
translative | selleks / seks | nendeks / neiks |
terminative | selleni | nendeni |
essive | sellena | nendena |
abessive | selleta | nendeta |
comitative | sellega | nendega |
Derived terms
- seal
- sealt
- sinna
See also
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
long | short | long | short | ||
1st person | mina | ma | meie | me | |
2nd person | familiar | sina | sa | teie | te |
polite | teie | te | |||
3rd person | animate | tema | ta | nemad | nad |
inanimate | see | need |
Finnish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈs̠e̞ː]
- Rhymes: -eː
- Syllabification(key): see
Etymology 1
Compare Swedish ce, English cee, both ultimately from Latin cē with the c sound changed from a /k/ to a /s/ as is a common change in languages using the Latin alphabet.
Alternative forms
- cee
Noun
see
- cee (The name of the Latin-script letter C.)
- 1990, Hämäläinen, Eila, Aletaan I: Suomen kielen oppikirja vasta-alkajille (Let's begin I: Finnish textbook for the beginners), Helsinki: Helsingin Yliopisto (University of Helsinki), →ISBN, page 23:
- Luemme kirjaimet näin: aa bee see dee ee äf gee hoo ii jii koo äl äm än oo pee kuu är äs tee uu vee kaksois-vee äks yy tset ruotsalainen oo ää öö
- We read the letters as follows: aa bee see …
-
Usage notes
- Speakers often use the corresponding forms of c-kirjain ("letter C, letter c") instead of inflecting this word, especially in plural. The plural forms may get confused with sei (“saithe”).
Declension
Inflection of see (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | see | seet | |
genitive | seen | seiden seitten | |
partitive | seetä | seitä | |
illative | seehen | seihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | see | seet | |
accusative | nom. | see | seet |
gen. | seen | ||
genitive | seen | seiden seitten | |
partitive | seetä | seitä | |
inessive | seessä | seissä | |
elative | seestä | seistä | |
illative | seehen | seihin | |
adessive | seellä | seillä | |
ablative | seeltä | seiltä | |
allative | seelle | seille | |
essive | seenä | seinä | |
translative | seeksi | seiksi | |
instructive | — | sein | |
abessive | seettä | seittä | |
comitative | — | seineen |
Possessive forms of see (type maa) | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | singular | plural |
1st person | seeni | seemme |
2nd person | seesi | seenne |
3rd person | seensä |
Synonyms
- c-kirjain
Etymology 2
70[a], [b] | ||
← 6 | 7 | 8 → |
---|---|---|
Cardinal: seitsemän Colloquial counting form: see Ordinal: seitsemäs Colloquial ordinal: seikki, seiska Ordinal abbreviation: 7. Adverbial: seitsemästi Multiplier: seitsenkertainen Fractional: seitsemäsosa, seitsemännes | ||
Finnish Wikipedia article on 7 |
< seitsemän
Numeral
see
- (colloquial, counting) seven
See also
- seitsemän (“seven”)
Etymology 3
From Proto-Finnic *se. Compare Estonian see.
Pronoun
see
- (dialectal, rare, Southwest) Synonym of se.
Anagrams
- ees
Friulian
Alternative forms
- siee
Etymology
From the verb seâ. Compare Italian sega, Venetian siega, French scie.
Noun
see f (plural seis)
- saw
Ingrian
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈs̠eː]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈʃe̝ː]
- Rhymes: -eː
- Hyphenation: see
Pronoun
see
- (dialectal) Alternative form of se
- 1937, V. A. Tetjurev, N. I. Molotsova, transl., Loonnontiito (ensimäin osa): oppikirja alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 7:
- See näyttää, jot pintamaas ono mokomat osat, kummat pallaat.
- This shows that there are such parts in the topsoil that burn.
-
Determiner
see
- (dialectal) Alternative form of se
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 514
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch sēo, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz.
Noun
sêe f or m
- sea
Inflection
Weak feminine | ||
---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | sêe | sêwen |
Accusative | sêe | sêwen |
Genitive | sêwen | sêwen |
Dative | sêe, sêwen | sêwen |
Descendants
- Dutch: zee f
- Afrikaans: see
- Berbice Creole Dutch: sei
- Javindo: see
- Negerhollands: see
- → Saramaccan: zé
- → Sranan Tongo: se
- Limburgish: zieë f
- West Flemish: zji m or f, zêe
Further reading
- “see”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “see (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English sǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz.
Alternative forms
- ce, sæ, se, sea, sei, ze
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛː/, /seː/
- Rhymes: -ɛː
Noun
see (plural sees)
- sea, ocean
- A body of water, a lake
Related terms
- Rede See
- seeman
Descendants
- English: sea
- Scots: se, see, sey, seye, sie
- Yola: zea, zee
References
- “sē, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-09.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Old French sei, from Latin sedes.
Alternative forms
- ce, cee, se
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seː/
- Rhymes: -eː
Noun
see (plural sees)
- seat, chair
- dwelling, residence
- A royal or episcopal chair
- A royal or episcopal polity or realm
- A royal or episcopal residence
- (Christianity) The Kingdom of Heaven.
Descendants
- English: see
References
- “sē, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-09.
North Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi. Cognates include Dutch zee.
Noun
see m (plural seen)
- (Föhr-Amrum) lake
Scots
Alternative forms
- sie, sey, sei
Etymology
From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon, from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan. Cognate with English see.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈsi][1]
- (Coast Scots) IPA(key): [ˈsəi̯]
Verb
see (third-person singular simple present sees, present participle seein, simple past saw, seed, past participle seen)
- to see
References
- “see, v.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Tetum
Verb
see
- to turn, to present
Votic
Alternative forms
- se
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *se, from Proto-Uralic *śe.
Pronunciation
- (Luuditsa, Liivtšülä) IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈseː]
- Rhymes: -eː
- Hyphenation: see
Pronoun
see
- (demonstrative) that
- (demonstrative) ít
Inflection
Inflection of see | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | see | need nee |
genitive | sene | neije nedʹdʹe |
accusative | sene | neije nedʹdʹe |
partitive | sitä | neite |
illative | sihe | neise |
inessive | senez | neiz |
elative | senesse | neisse |
allative | sele selle | neile neille |
adessive | selle sell | neille neill |
ablative | selte | neilte |
translative | senessi | neissi |
**) the terminative is formed by adding the suffix -ssaa to the short illative or the genitive. ***) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka to the genitive. |
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seː/
Noun
see c (plural seeën, diminutive seeke)
- sea
Derived terms
- seehûn
- seeko
- seerôver
Further reading
- “see”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011