Sae

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. A Scots word meaning so or to such a degree ; an abbreviation for a stamped addressed envelope enclosed with a letter so the recipient can reply
2. In Scottish usage, the equivalent of so or such ; a shorthand term for an envelope already addressed and stamped for the return of a reply
3. Scots dialect meaning thus or to such an extent ; a short form for a self-addressed envelope sent along with correspondence to make replying easy

Etymology: "Sae" is a Scots and Northern English form of "so," and it has the same ancestry as its standard counterpart. It descends from Old English "swa," which meant "in this way" or "to such a degree," and it shares that root with "so," "such," and "same" in English. The word was used across the Old English period and survived in the northern dialects of Britain while the southern forms became standard, so "sae" is essentially a regional branch of an ordinary word rather than a separate borrowing. Its best-known appearance is in Scottish literature. Robert Burns used it throughout his poetry, and "Auld Lang Syne" opens with "Should auld acquaintance be forgot," where "sae" would appear in other lines of his work, such as "sae" in "Ae fond kiss" and many others, showing how central the form was to Scots verse. In Scots, "sae" appears in phrases like "sae far" for "so far," and it is still familiar to speakers of Scots today.

Synonyms: so, thus