sagði

Sagði is the past tense form of the Icelandic verb segja, meaning to say. In ordinary narrative it translates to “I said” or “he/she/it said,” depending on the subject. It is used to report statements or quotations in the simple past tense.

In Icelandic, sagði commonly appears in both first-person singular and third-person singular constructions, with the subject determining the meaning. The second-person singular has a different form, and the other persons use their own past-tense forms. Sagði is a standard element of indirect and direct discourse and is frequently found in storytelling, journalism, and everyday speech when recounting what was said.

Etymology and related forms: Sagði derives from the verb segja, which comes from Old Norse segja and is cognate with related Germanic roots. The past tense form reflects historic sound changes typical of Icelandic conjugation. The form is part of a larger set of verb forms that express past statements, with other persons and numbers forming in parallel but with distinct endings.

Example usage:

- Ég sagði að ég myndi koma fyrir klukkan sex. (I said I would come by six.)

- Hann sagði mér söguna. (He told me the story.)

Sagði is thus a common past-tense form used to convey reported speech and to anchor narrative timing.