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The original sagas were Icelandic prose narratives that were roughly analogous to modern historical novels. They were penned in the 12th and 13th centuries, and blended fact and fiction to tell the tales of famous rulers, legendary heroes, and average folks of Iceland and Norway. And they were aptly named: saga traces back to an Old Norse root that means "tale." The English word first referred only to those original Icelandic stories, but saga later broadened to cover other narratives reminiscent of those, and the word was eventually further generalized to cover any long, complicated scenario.
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A Brief History of Saga
Saga was originally used to describe Icelandic prose narratives composed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The word first appeared in English in that sense during the 18th century; by the middle of the 19th century we were employing saga in a somewhat looser fashion, in reference to modern stories involving heroic deeds that bore some resemblance to the Icelandic tales of yore. By the 20th century saga had come to be applied to other written works, typically a novel or series of novels, especially those that took place over a significant period of time. Today the word may also be used to describe a long and drawn-out story that is either written or spoken (as in “my neighbor told me the saga of his divorce again”). Saga comes from an Old Norse word of the same spelling. It does not have any connection with the adjective sagacious (“possessing quick intellectual perceptions”), which comes from the Latin sagax (“sagacious”).
Examples of saga in a Sentence
Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2024
The saga of expanding mass transit in the Charlotte region, including northern Mecklenburg County, has roots in the late 1990s.
Mecklenburg County voters in 1998 approved a half-cent sales tax to finance public transportation systems.
—Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2024
Corri Hicks and Lindsey Miller each homered for Mitty, which fell to 11-3, 0-2.
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Branham athletic director saga: Formal complaint provides more details about why Landon Jacobs was dismissed
The Lancers improved to 2-0 in WCAL play.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
Near the end of this downhearted saga, Esmeralda gives a speech, explanatory despite its poetic language, about the mistreatment of her people in this country — her fury even more palpable in her delivery than in the words themselves.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
The charge is the latest twist in a saga that has transfixed the baseball world since The Times broke the story on March 20.
—Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
This saga would later inspire the epic 2019 film Ford v Ferrari.
—Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
Still, the episode is good and talky, and confirms that there’s a great play or two-hour movie to be made about this entire saga.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
The saga began when Daybell and Vallow met in 2018 at a religious conference in St. George, Utah.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'saga.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near saga
Cite this Entry
“Saga.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saga. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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saga
noun
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