saga

Definition

An Old Norse (Icelandic) prose narrative, especially one dealing with family or social histories and legends.

Etymology

From Old Norse saga (“epic tale, story”), from Proto-Germanic *sagǭ (“saying, story”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”). Cognate with Old English sagu (“story, tale, statement”), Old High German saga (“an assertion, narrative, sermon, pronouncement”), Icelandic saga (“story, tale, history”), German Sage (“saga, legend, myth”). More at say; Doublet of saw. Compare typologically Ancient Greek ἔπος (épos) (whence epos, epic) << Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”).

Example Sentences

• "The latest Fire Emblem, developed by the makers of Advance Wars and available in the U.S., is the seventh game in an epic saga that began 13 years ago on the NES."
• "Manchester City put the Carlos Tevez saga behind them with a classy victory at Blackburn that keeps them level on points with leaders Manchester United."
• "According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle."