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see

See also: See, sée, seë, and se'e

Contents

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon (“to see, look, behold, perceive, observe, discern, understand, know”), from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”). Cognate with West Frisian sjen (“to see”), Dutch zien (“to see”), Low German sehn, German sehen (“to see”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål se (“to see”), Norwegian Nynorsk sjå (“to see”), and more distantly with Latin sīgnum (“sign, token”), Albanian shih (“look at, see”) imp. of shoh (“to see”).

VerbEdit

see (third-person singular simple present sees, present participle seeing, simple past saw, past participle seen)

  1. (stative) To perceive or detect with the eyes, or as if by sight.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
    1. To witness or observe by personal experience.
      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.
      I saw military service in Vietnam.
      • Bible, John viii. 51
        Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
      • Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby
        […] And remember this, 'scapegallows,' 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 […]
  2. 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.
    1. (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.
    2. To come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled.
      They're blind to the damage they do, but someday they'll see.
  3. (social) To meet, to visit.
    1. To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.
      to go to see a friend
      • Bible, 1 Samuel xv. 35
        And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death.
    2. To date frequently.
      I've been seeing her for two months
  4. (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.
  5. (gambling) To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.
    I'll see your twenty dollars and raise you ten.
  6. (sometimes mystical) To foresee, predict, or prophesy.
    The oracle saw the destruction of the city.
  7. 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.
  8. (used in the imperative) Used to emphasise a proposition.
    You see Johnny, your Dad isn't your real dad.
  9. (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).
    This article is about the insect. For the English rock band, see The Beatles.
    For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C.
Usage notesEdit

Infrequently, and particularly in dialects, seen is used as the simple past tense instead of saw; in AAVE and some other dialects, it is further changed to seent. This use is nonstandard.

InflectionEdit
conjugation of see
infinitive see
present participle seeing
past participle seen
simple progressive perfect perfect progressive
present I see we see I am seeing we are seeing I have seen we have seen I have been seeing we have been seeing
you see you see you are seeing you are seeing you have seen you have seen you have been seeing you have been seeing
he sees they see he is seeing they are seeing he has seen they have seen he has been seeing they have been seeing
past I saw we saw I was seeing we were seeing I had seen we had seen I had been seeing we had been seeing
you saw you saw you were seeing you were seeing you had seen you had seen you had been seeing you had been seeing
he saw they saw he was seeing they were seeing he had seen they had seen he had been seeing they had been seeing
future I will see we will see I will be seeing we will be seeing I will have seen we will have seen I will have been seeing we will have been seeing
you will see you will see you will be seeing you will be seeing you will have seen you will have seen you will have been seeing you will have been seeing
he will see they will see he will be seeing they will be seeing he will have seen they will have seen he will have been seeing they will have been seeing
conditional I would see we would see I would be seeing we would be seeing I would have seen we would have seen I would have been seeing we would have been seeing
you would see you would see you would be seeing you would be seeing you would have seen you would have seen you would have been seeing you would have been seeing
he would see they would see he would be seeing they would be seeing he would have seen they would have seen he would have been seeing they would have been seeing
imperative see
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from see (verb)
TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle English see, se, 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”).

NounEdit

see (plural sees)

  1. A diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop, especially an archbishop.
  2. The office of a bishop or archbishop; bishopric or archbishopric
  3. A seat; a site; a place where sovereign power is exercised.
    • Spenser
      Jove laughed on Venus from his sovereign see.
Related termsEdit
terms related to see (noun)
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

StatisticsEdit

Most common English words before 1923 in Project Gutenberg: two · us · before · #91: see · over · know · much

Further readingEdit

AnagramsEdit

AfrikaansEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Dutch zee.

NounEdit

see (plural seë)

  1. sea

EstonianEdit

PronounEdit

see (genitive selle, partitive seda)

  1. this
  2. it

DeclensionEdit

Declension of see (type 41)
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

FinnishEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈseː/
  • Hyphenation: see

Alternative formsEdit

NounEdit

see

  1. cee (The name of the Latin-script letter C/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 951-454-895-7, 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 …

DeclensionEdit

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

Usage notesEdit

  • 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”).

SynonymsEdit

FriulianEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From the verb seâ. Compare Italian sega, Venetian siega, French scie.

NounEdit

see f (plural seis)

  1. saw

Middle DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Dutch sēo, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz.

NounEdit

sêe f, m

  1. sea

InflectionEdit

Weak feminine
Singular Plural
Nominative sêe sêwen
Accusative sêe sêwen
Genitive sêwen sêwen
Dative sêe, sêwen sêwen

DescendantsEdit

Further readingEdit

  • “see”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • “see (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

North FrisianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz. Cognates include Dutch zee.

NounEdit

see m (plural seen)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) lake

TetumEdit

VerbEdit

see

  1. to turn, to present

West FrisianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz. Compare English sea, Dutch zee, Low German and German See, Danish sø.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

see c

  1. sea
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