Wiktionary

see

See also: Appendix:Variations of "see"

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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”).

Cognates
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”) imperative of shoh (“to see”).

Verb

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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)

  1. (transitive) To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, 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)
    1. 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.
    2. To watch (a movie) at a cinema, or a show on television etc.
      I saw the latest Tarantino flick last week.
  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.
    • 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[1], 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).
    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. (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
    4. (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?
  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
    2. 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?"
    3. 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.
  4. (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.
  5. (by extension) Chiefly followed by that: to ensure that something happens, especially by personally witnessing it.
    I'll see you hang for this
    I saw that they didn't make any more trouble.
    • 1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469:
      As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]
    • 2001, Joan Lock, Death in Perspective, London: Robert Hale, →ISBN, page 52:
      'Don't worry. You won't lose out. I'll see you get your share of the action. If not now, later.'
    • 2022 October 27, Brian Porter, “The last barrel of oil should be a Canadian one”, in The Globe and Mail‎[2], Toronto, ON: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-17:
      We have forgotten that such a transition will require compromise, as we address real energy needs today, and investment, as we adapt to cleaner ways of producing energy tomorrow. A well-managed transition will see that the opportunities flowing from the transformation dramatically exceed these costs.
  6. (transitive) To wait upon; attend, escort.
    I saw the old lady safely across the road.
    You can see yourself out.
  7. (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.
  8. 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.
  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).
    For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C.
  10. 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.
  11. 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
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Conjugation of see
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
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Interjection

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see

  1. Introducing an explanation
    Synonyms: look, well, so
    See, in order to win the full prize we would have to come up with a scheme to land a rover on the Moon.
Translations
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See also

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Etymology 2

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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

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see (plural sees)

  1. A diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop or 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.
Derived terms
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terms related to see (noun)
Translations
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See also

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Etymology 3

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Noun

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see (plural sees)

  1. Alternative form of cee; the name of the Latin-script letter C/c.
    • 1881 April, J. B. Rundell, “The Irregularities of English Spelling: what they Cost and what they are Worth”, in The Spelling Reformer, and Journal of the English Spelling Reform Association, volume I, number 10, London, page 147:
      see, ar, eye, ee, ess, cries
    • 1984, Eva Holmquist, No Certain Time, Libra Publishers, →ISBN, page 17:
      They were still shocked if you said “eff you see kay” out loud, though it didn’t stop any of them from doing it.
    • 1996, Sycamore Review, volume 8, page 116:
      eff you see kay why oh you.
    • 2009, Eric Barnes, Shimmer, Denver, Colo.: Unbridled Books, →ISBN, page 91:
      I hear you. But hear me out, all right? Because I mean what I’m about to say. Eff-you-see-kay-why-oh-you. Fuck you.
    • 2020, Paul Richardson, Taylah’s Got Talent, →ISBN:
      Her mother said, “Maybe you can have ‘Muck Donnas’, or we could have fish and chips.” Krissy shook her head, “Nah. We no have fwishenchit. We have Kay Eff See nuggers?”
    • 2023, Callum McSorley, chapter 15, in Squeaky Clean, Pushkin Press, →ISBN:
      Same old answer: the eff-you-see-kay-you-pee.
Derived terms
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Afrikaans

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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see (plural seë)

  1. 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

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Estonian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *se, ultimately from Proto-Uralic *śe. cognate to Finnish se, Votic se, Erzya се (śe, “this, that”), Northern Khanty си (si, “that over yonder; now, then”), and Nganasan [script needed] (sete, “he, she”).

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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see (genitive selle, partitive seda)

  1. this
  2. that
  3. it
  4. (colloquial, somewhat rude) he, she (usually only used when said person is not present)

Usage notes

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In Northern Estonia, and in the standard language, see is both the proximal ("this") and distal ("that") determiner. In Southern Estonia, too is used as the distal determiner.

Declension

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Declension of see (irregular)
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

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See also

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Estonian personal pronouns
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

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈs̠e̞ː]
  • Rhymes: -eː
  • Syllabification(key): see

Etymology 1

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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

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Noun

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see

  1. cee (The name of the Latin-script letter C/c)
    • 1990, Eila Hämäläinen, 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
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  • 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
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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
abessive seettä seittä
instructive — sein
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of see (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative seeni seeni
accusative nom. seeni seeni
gen. seeni
genitive seeni seideni
seitteni
partitive seetäni seitäni
inessive seessäni seissäni
elative seestäni seistäni
illative seeheni seihini
adessive seelläni seilläni
ablative seeltäni seiltäni
allative seelleni seilleni
essive seenäni seinäni
translative seekseni seikseni
abessive seettäni seittäni
instructive — —
comitative — seineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative seesi seesi
accusative nom. seesi seesi
gen. seesi
genitive seesi seidesi
seittesi
partitive seetäsi seitäsi
inessive seessäsi seissäsi
elative seestäsi seistäsi
illative seehesi seihisi
adessive seelläsi seilläsi
ablative seeltäsi seiltäsi
allative seellesi seillesi
essive seenäsi seinäsi
translative seeksesi seiksesi
abessive seettäsi seittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — seinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative seemme seemme
accusative nom. seemme seemme
gen. seemme
genitive seemme seidemme
seittemme
partitive seetämme seitämme
inessive seessämme seissämme
elative seestämme seistämme
illative seehemme seihimme
adessive seellämme seillämme
ablative seeltämme seiltämme
allative seellemme seillemme
essive seenämme seinämme
translative seeksemme seiksemme
abessive seettämme seittämme
instructive — —
comitative — seinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative seenne seenne
accusative nom. seenne seenne
gen. seenne
genitive seenne seidenne
seittenne
partitive seetänne seitänne
inessive seessänne seissänne
elative seestänne seistänne
illative seehenne seihinne
adessive seellänne seillänne
ablative seeltänne seiltänne
allative seellenne seillenne
essive seenänne seinänne
translative seeksenne seiksenne
abessive seettänne seittänne
instructive — —
comitative — seinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative seensä seensä
accusative nom. seensä seensä
gen. seensä
genitive seensä seidensä
seittensä
partitive seetään
seetänsä 		seitään
seitänsä
inessive seessään
seessänsä 		seissään
seissänsä
elative seestään
seestänsä 		seistään
seistänsä
illative seehensä seihinsä
adessive seellään
seellänsä 		seillään
seillänsä
ablative seeltään
seeltänsä 		seiltään
seiltänsä
allative seelleen
seellensä 		seilleen
seillensä
essive seenään
seenänsä 		seinään
seinänsä
translative seekseen
seeksensä 		seikseen
seiksensä
abessive seettään
seettänsä 		seittään
seittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — seineen
seinensä
Synonyms
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Etymology 2

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Finnish numbers (edit)
70[a], [b]
 ←  6 7 8  → 
    Cardinal: seitsemän
    Colloquial counting form: see, sei
    Ordinal: seitsemäs
    Colloquial ordinal: seikki (regional), seiska
    Ordinal abbreviation: 7., 7:s
    Digit name: seiska (informal), seitsikko, seitsemäinen
    Adverbial: seitsemästi
    Multiplier: seitsenkertainen
    Fractional: seitsemäsosa, seitsemännes
Finnish Wikipedia article on 7

< seitsemän

Numeral

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see (colloquial)

  1. (counting) seven

See also

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Etymology 3

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Compare Estonian see.

Pronoun

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see (dialectal, rare)

  1. (Southwest Finnish) Alternative form of se.

Anagrams

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Friulian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Noun

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see f (plural seis)

  1. saw

Ingrian

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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see

  1. (dialectal) Alternative form of se
    • 1937, V. A. Tetjurev, translated by N. I. Molotsova, 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

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see

  1. (dialectal) Alternative form of se

References

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  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 514

Middle Dutch

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Etymology

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

Noun

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sêe f or m

  1. sea

Inflection

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

Descendants

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  • 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

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Old English sǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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see (plural sees)

  1. sea, ocean
  2. A body of water, a lake
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Descendants
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References
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Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Old French sei, from Latin sedes.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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see (plural sees)

  1. seat, chair
  2. dwelling, residence
  3. A royal or episcopal chair
  4. A royal or episcopal polity or realm
  5. A royal or episcopal residence
  6. (Christianity) The Kingdom of Heaven.
Descendants
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References
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North Frisian

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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see f

  1. (Heligoland) sea

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from German See m (“lake”), ultimately the same word as above. See sia for more.

Noun

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see m (plural seen)

  1. Alternative form of sia m (“lake”)

Scots

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon, from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan. Cognate with English see.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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

  1. to see

References

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  1. ^ “see, v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Tetum

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Verb

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see

  1. to turn, to present

Votic

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *se, from Proto-Uralic *śe.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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see

  1. (demonstrative) that
  2. (demonstrative) ít

Inflection

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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 neille
ablative selte neilte
translative senessi neissi
**) the terminative is formed by adding the suffix -ssaa to the short illative (sg) or the genitive.
***) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka to the genitive.

West Frisian

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Etymology

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From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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see c (plural seeën, diminutive seeke)

  1. sea

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “see”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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