to say, speak, or tell; the ordinary Aramaic verb for putting something into words.
This is the everyday verb for speaking in the Aramaic parts of the Bible, the parts written in the language of the Babylonian and Persian empires (most of Daniel, several chapters of Ezra, and one verse in Jeremiah). It is the exact partner of the common Hebrew word for "to say," and it does the same plain work: it introduces what a person says. Most of the time it is simply "he said," "they said," "tell me," the words that carry a conversation along.
Because Daniel and Ezra are full of kings, officials, and royal courts, the same verb often slides from plain speaking into giving an order. When the one speaking has the power to make it happen, "he said" becomes "he gave the command," and the next thing in the story is that the command is carried out. The two shades are not separate words. A command is still something said; the difference is who is speaking and whether the words are meant to be obeyed.
So the senses below are really one act of speech seen in two settings: ordinary telling, and authoritative ordering. Where the line falls is a matter of context, and a few verses could be read either way.