saw
n.
1
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.).
2
"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.).
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.