vicente on 22 Jun 2004  •  Link

... Serge (from ancient French saie which derives from the ... for tie-making characterized
by a cloth armor and ... and good elasticity, similar to the serge but smoother ...
http://www.madeincomo.it/autun_in…
Say
(Say), v. t. To try; to assay. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Say
(Say), n. [OE. saie, F. saie, fr. L. saga, equiv. to sagum, sagus, a coarse woolen mantle; cf. Gr. sa`gos. See Sagum.]
1. A kind of silk or satin. [Obs.]
Thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord!
Shak.
2. A delicate kind of serge, or woolen cloth. [Obs.]
His garment neither was of silk nor say.
Spenser

http://www.bootlegbooks.com/Refer…
Northern French and Flemish serges(sagie, sagie, saie) were exported 12th century.
other spellings saye saie
to say another meaning altogether.

Bill on 23 Apr 2014  •  Link

SAY [sayette, F] a thin sort of Stuff.
---An Universal Etymological English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1675.

Bill on 17 Jun 2014  •  Link

SAY, or SAYE, in commerce, a kind of serge; or a very light crossed stuff, all wool; much used abroad for linings, and by the religious for shirts; and with us, by the quakers, for aprons for which purpose it is usually green. There are very considerable manufactures hereof at Sudbury, near Colchester; also at Ypres, Houdscot, &c. in Flanders, &c. - Those made in England are chiefly exported to Portugal, and Leghorn.
---Cyclopaedia: Or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. E. Chambers, 1743.