What is "saw"

Saw \Saw\, v. t. [imp. Sawed; p. p. Sawed or Sawn; p. pr. & vb. n. Sawing.]

1. To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw timber or marble.

2. To form by cutting with a saw; as, to saw boards or planks, that is, to saw logs or timber into boards or planks; to saw shingles; to saw out a panel.

3. Also used figuratively; as, to saw the air.

Saw \Saw\, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sagu; akin to secgan to say. See Say, v. t. and cf. Saga.]

1. Something said; speech; discourse. [Obs.] ``To hearken all his sawe.''
   --Chaucer.

2. A saying; a proverb; a maxim.

   His champions are the prophets and apostles, His weapons holy saws of sacred writ.
   --Shak.

3. Dictate; command; decree. [Obs.]

   [Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
   --Spenser.

Saw \Saw\ (s[add]), imp. of See.

Saw \Saw\, v. i.

1. To use a saw; to practice sawing; as, a man saws well.

2. To cut, as a saw; as, the saw or mill saws fast.

3. To be cut with a saw; as, the timber saws smoothly.

See \See\ (s[=e]), v. t. [imp. Saw (s[add]); p. p. Seen (s[=e]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Seeing.] [OE. seen, sen, seon, AS. se['o]n; akin to OFries. s[=i]a, D. zien, OS. & OHG. sehan, G. sehen, Icel. sj[=a], Sw. se, Dan. see, Goth. sa['i]hwan, and probably to L. sequi to follow (and so originally meaning, to follow with the eyes). Gr. "e`pesqai, Skr. sac. Cf. Sight, Sue to follow.]

1. To perceive by the eye; to have knowledge of the existence and apparent qualities of by the organs of sight; to behold; to descry; to view.

   I will now turn aside, and see this great sight.
   --Ex. iii. 3.

2. To perceive by mental vision; to form an idea or conception of; to note with the mind; to observe; to discern; to distinguish; to understand; to comprehend; to ascertain.

   Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren.
   --Gen. xxxvii. 14.

   Jesus saw that he answered discreetly.
   --Mark xii. 34.

   Who's so gross That seeth not this palpable device?
   --Shak.

3. To follow with the eyes, or as with the eyes; to watch; to regard attentively; to look after.
   --Shak.

   I had a mind to see him out, and therefore did not care for contradicting him.
   --Addison.

4. To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit; as, to go to see a friend.

   And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death.
   --1 Sam. xv. 3

5. 5. To fall in with; to meet or associate with; to have intercourse or communication with; hence, to have knowledge or experience of; as, to see military service.

   Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
   --Ps. xc. 15.

   Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
   --John viii. 51.

   Improvement in wisdom and prudence by seeing men.
   --Locke.

6. To accompany in person; to escort; to wait upon; as, to see one home; to see one aboard the cars.

7. In poker and similar games at cards, to meet (a bet), or to equal the bet of (a player), by staking the same sum. ``I'll see you and raise you ten.''

   God you see (or God him see or God me see, etc.), God keep you (him, me, etc.) in his sight; God protect you. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

   To see (anything) out, to see (it) to the end; to be present at, work at, or attend, to the end.

   To see stars, to see flashes of light, like stars; -- sometimes the result of concussion of the head. [Colloq.]

   To see (one) through, to help, watch, or guard (one) to the end of a course or an undertaking.

Saw \Saw\, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sage; akin to D. zaag, G. s["a]ge, OHG. sega, saga, Dan. sav, Sw. s[*a]g, Icel. s["o]g, L. secare to cut, securis ax, secula sickle. Cf. Scythe, Sickle, Section, Sedge.] An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood, iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel, with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing.

Note: Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound.

Band saw, Crosscut saw, etc. See under Band, Crosscut, etc.

Circular saw, a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its periphery, and revolved on an arbor.

Saw bench, a bench or table with a flat top for for sawing, especially with a circular saw which projects above the table.

Saw file, a three-cornered file, such as is used for sharpening saw teeth.

Saw frame, the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the saw, or gang of saws, is held.

Saw gate, a saw frame.

Saw gin, the form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in which the cotton fibers are drawn, by the teeth of a set of revolving circular saws, through a wire grating which is too fine for the seeds to pass.

Saw grass (Bot.), any one of certain cyperaceous plants having the edges of the leaves set with minute sharp teeth, especially the Cladium Mariscus of Europe, and the Cladium effusum of the Southern United States. Cf. Razor grass, under Razor.

Saw log, a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber.

Saw mandrel, a mandrel on which a circular saw is fastened for running.

Saw pit, a pit over which timbor is sawed by two men, one standing below the timber and the other above.
--Mortimer.

Saw sharpener (Zo["o]l.), the great titmouse; -- so named from its harsh call note. [Prov. Eng.]

Saw whetter (Zo["o]l.), the marsh titmouse ( Parus palustris); -- so named from its call note. [Prov. Eng.]

Scroll saw, a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge, stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved outlines; also, a machine in which such a saw is worked by foot or power.

toothed cutting tool, Old English sagu, from Proto-Germanic *sago "a cutting tool" (cognates: Old English seax "knife," Old Norse sög, Norwegian sag, Danish sav, Swedish såg, Middle Dutch saghe, Dutch zaag, Old High German saga, German Säge "saw"), from PIE root *sek- "to cut" (cognates: Latin secare "to cut," Russian sech' "to cut;" see section (n.)).

"proverb, saying, maxim," Old English sagu "saying, discourse, speech, study, tradition, tale," from Proto-Germanic *saga-, *sagon- (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch sage, zage, German Sage "legend, fable, saga, myth, tradition," Old Norse saga "story, tale, saga"), from PIE root *sek(w)- "to say, utter" (see say (v.)).

"cut with a saw," c.1200, sauen, saghen, from saw (n.1). Strong conjugation began by c.1400 on model of draw, etc. Related: Sawed; sawing. Sawed-off "short, cut short" is attested 1887 of persons, 1898 of shotguns.

past tense of see; from Old English plural sawon.

Etymology 1 n. 1 A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard substances, in particular wood or metal 2 A musical saw. 3 A sawtooth wave. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To cut (something) with a saw. 2 (context intransitive English) To make a motion back and forth similar to cutting something with a saw. 3 (context intransitive English) To be cut with a saw. 4 (context transitive English) To form or produce (something) by cutting with a saw. Etymology 2

n. 1 (label en obsolete) Something spoken; speech, discourse. 2 (''often'' '''old saw''') A saying or proverb. 3 (label en obsolete) opinion, idea, belief; by thy ~, in your opinion; commune ~, common opinion; common knowledge; on no ~, by no means. 4 (label en obsolete) proposal, suggestion; possibility. 5 (label en obsolete) Dictate; command; decree. Etymology 3

vb. (en-simple pastsee)

1. v. cut with a saw; "saw wood for the fireplace"

2. [also: sawn]

1. n. a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people [syn: proverb, adage, byword]

2. hand tool having a toothed blade for cutting

3. a power tool for cutting wood [syn: power saw, sawing machine]

4. [also: sawn]

1. n. the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located

2. [also: seen, saw]

1. adv. compare (used in texts to point the reader to another location in the text) [syn: cf., cf, confer, see also]

2. [also: seen, saw]

1. See see

2. [also: sawn]

1. v. perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight; "You have to be a good observer to see all the details"; "Can you see the bird in that tree?"; "He is blind--he cannot see"

2. perceive (an idea or situation) mentally; "Now I see!"; "I just can't see your point"; "Does she realize how important this decision is?"; "I don't understand the idea" [syn: understand, realize, realise]

3. perceive or be contemporaneous with; "We found Republicans winning the offices"; "You'll see a lot of cheating in this school"; "I want to see results"; "The 1960 saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditions"; "I want to see results" [syn: witness, find]

4. imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a risk in this strategy" [syn: visualize, visualise, envision, project, fancy, figure, picture, image]

5. deem to be; "She views this quite differently from me"; "I consider her to be shallow"; "I don't see the situation quite as negatively as you do" [syn: consider, reckon, view, regard]

6. get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted" [syn: learn, hear, get word, get wind, pick up, find out, get a line, discover]

7. see or watch; "view a show on television"; "This program will be seen all over the world"; "view an exhibition"; "Catch a show on Broadway"; "see a movie" [syn: watch, view, catch, take in]

8. find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort; "I want to see whether she speaks French"; "See whether it works"; "find out if he speaks Russian"; "Check whether the train leaves on time" [syn: determine, check, find out, ascertain, watch, learn]

9. come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!" [syn: meet, ran into, encounter, run across, come across]

10. be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something; "He verified that the valves were closed"; "See that the curtains are closed"; "control the quality of the product" [syn: check, insure, see to it, ensure, control, ascertain, assure]

11. go to see for professional or business reasons; "You should see a lawyer"; "We had to see a psychiatrist"

12. go to see for a social visit; "I went to see my friend Mary the other day"

13. visit a place, as for entertainment; "We went to see the Eiffel Tower in the morning" [syn: visit]

14. take charge of or deal with; "Could you see about lunch?"; "I must attend to this matter"; "She took care of this business" [syn: attend, take care, look]

15. receive as a specified guest; "the doctor will see you now"; "The minister doesn't see anybody before noon"

16. date regularly; have a steady relationship with; "Did you know that she is seeing an older man?"; "He is dating his former wife again!" [syn: go steady, go out, date]

17. see and understand, have a good eye; "The artist must first learn to see"

18. deliberate or decide; "See whether you can come tomorrow"; "let's see--which movie should we see tonight?"

19. observe as if with an eye; "The camera saw the burglary and recorded it"

20. observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect; "The customs agent examined the baggage"; "I must see your passport before you can enter the country" [syn: examine]

21. go or live through; "We had many trials to go through"; "he saw action in Viet Nam" [syn: experience, undergo, go through]

22. accompany or escort; "I'll see you to the door" [syn: escort]

23. match or meet; "I saw the bet of one of my fellow players"

24. make sense of; assign a meaning to; "What message do you see in this letter?"; "How do you interpret his behavior?" [syn: interpret, construe]

25. [also: seen, saw]

A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, most often wood. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and moving it forcefully forth and less forcefully back or continuously forward. This force may be applied by hand, or powered by steam, water, electricity or other power source. An abrasive saw has a powered circular blade designed to cut through metal.

A saw is a cutting tool.

Saw or SAW may also refer to:

Saw is a nine-and-a-half-minute Australian short subject horror film released in 2003. It was directed by James Wan and written by Wan and Leigh Whannell, the latter also starring in it. It was originally used to pitch their script for a full-length feature film Saw to various studios and actors. The full-length film was eventually made in 2004. The short film later became a scene in Saw, with Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young wearing the Reverse Bear Trap device instead of David. The original short can be viewed on the second disc of Saw: Uncut Edition.

Saw: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the film, Saw. It was released October 5, 2004 by Koch Records.

A saw is an old saying or commonly repeated phrase or idea; a conventional wisdom. While "old saw" is a common phrase for "saw", some consider it a tautology.

Among various synonyms for "saying", dictionaries from 18th century singled out "saw" as a vulgar, uneducated wisdom, often based in supersititions. This flavor is seen in the expressions "old women's saws" and "old wife's saws."

Saw is a 2004 American psychological horror film directed by James Wan. It is Wan's feature film directorial debut. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell and Leigh Whannell. In the film, Elwes and Whannell portrayed two men who awake to find themselves chained in a large dilapidated bathroom, with one being ordered to kill the other or his family will die. It is the first installment of the seven-part Saw franchise.

The debut of Wan and Whannell, the screenplay was written in 2001, but after failed attempts to get the script produced in Wan and Whannell's home country of Australia, they were urged to travel to Los Angeles. In order to help attract producers they shot a low-budget short film of the same name from a scene out of the script. This proved successful in 2003 as producers from Evolution Entertainment were immediately attached and also formed a horror genre production label Twisted Pictures. The film was given a small budget and shot for 18 days.

Saw was first screened on January 19, 2004. Lionsgate picked up the rights and released the film in the United States and Canada on October 29, 2004. Critical responses were generally mixed and divided, but the film gained a cult following. Compared to its low budget, Saw performed very well at the box office, grossing more than $100 million worldwide and becoming, at the time, one of the most profitable horror films since 1996's Scream. The success of the film prompted a green-light of a sequel soon after Saw opening weekend, which was released the following October.

The film was theatrically re-released by Lionsgate on October 31, 2014 to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

Saw is a horror franchise distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment and produced by Twisted Pictures that consists of seven feature films and additional media. In 2003, Australian director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell created a short film to help pitch as a potential feature film. This was successfully done in 2004 with the release of the first installment at the Sundance Film Festival. It was released theatrically that October. The sequels were directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, David Hackl, and Kevin Greutert, and were written by Wan, Whannell, Bousman, Patrick Melton, and Marcus Dunstan, and were released subsequently every October, on the Friday before Halloween, between 2004 and 2010. Both of the creators remained with the franchise as executive producers. On July 22, 2010, producer Mark Burg confirmed that the seventh film, Saw 3D, is the final installment of the series. Series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell are still open to continuing the series, however, if they can do something "different" with the material. The films collectively grossed over $873 million at the box office worldwide. Lionsgate reportedly expressed interest in continuing the franchise in 2012 with a reboot. However, in November 2013, it was reported that they were in active development of a sequel.

The franchise revolves around the fictional character of John Kramer, also called the "Jigsaw Killer" or simply "Jigsaw". He was introduced briefly in Saw and developed in more detail in Saw II. Rather than killing his victims outright, Jigsaw traps them in situations that he calls "tests" or "games" to test their will to live through physical or psychological torture. Despite the fact that John was murdered in Saw III, the films continue to focus on the posthumous influence of the Jigsaw Killer and his apprentices by exploring his character via flashbacks.

The film series as a whole has received mostly mixed to negative reviews by critics, but has been a financial success at the box office. While the films are often compared to Hostel and classified as torture porn by critics, the creators of Saw disagree with the term "torture porn". Writer Luke Y. Thompson of OC Weekly argued that, unlike Hostel, the Saw films actually have less torture than most in the sense of sadism or masochism, as Jigsaw believes that those who survive his methods will be stronger people for it. He called him a kind of a "(deranged) philanthropist".

Saw, also known as Saw: The Video Game, is a survival horror video game that was developed by Zombie Studios and published by Konami. The game launched on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a downloadable version released soon after for the Microsoft Windows platform. The game was first released on October 6, 2009, in North America and was released later that year in other regions. The Microsoft Windows version was released on October 22, 2009. Being a tie-in game of the Saw film series, the game is set between the first and second films.

In Saw, The Jigsaw Killer has healed Detective David Tapp from his gunshot wound, and places him in an abandoned insane asylum to teach him a lesson in life appreciation. Obsessed, Tapp traverses the asylum and gathers clues along the way in hopes of finally apprehending Jigsaw. As he progresses through the asylum, he encounters several people with past and current connections to him, whom he must save. The asylum also has inhabitants who are in games of their own, ordered to kill Tapp. Along the way, Tapp uncovers the origins of Jigsaw and the motives behind his tests. The development team brought in the Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell to help with the storyline and create new trap designs exclusive to the game.

Upon release, Saw received mixed reviews. It was praised for the storyline and multiple endings, as well as the immersive environment that is true to the Saw film series. The controls and combat system, however, were panned by critics. Since Konami purchased the publishing rights after former publisher Brash Entertainment went bankrupt, Konami had a significant input on the games' final outcome. They stated that they had plans to make Saw their next big franchise as well as a spiritual successor to their other survival horror series, Silent Hill. A sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, was released on multiple platforms on October 19, 2010.