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Sagas

 - 3 dictionary results

sa⋅ga

[sah-guh]
–noun
1. a medieval Icelandic or Norse prose narrative of achievements and events in the history of a personage, family, etc.
2. any narrative or legend of heroic exploits.
3. Also called saga novel. a form of the novel in which the members or generations of a family or social group are chronicled in a long and leisurely narrative.

Origin:
1700–10; < ON; c. saw 3


2. epic, tale, history.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sa·ga   (sä'gə)   
n.  
    1. A prose narrative usually written in Iceland between 1120 and 1400, dealing with the families that first settled Iceland and their descendants, with the histories of the kings of Norway, and with the myths and legends of early Germanic gods and heroes.

    2. A modern prose narrative that resembles a saga.

  1. A long detailed report: recounted the saga of their family problems.


[Old Norse; see sekw-3 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

saga 
1709, an antiquarians' revival to describe the medieval prose narratives of Iceland and Norway, from O.N. saga "saga, story," cognate with O.E. sagu "a saying" (see saw (2)). Prop., a narrative composition of Iceland or Norway in the Middle Ages, or one that has their characteristics.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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