4 entries under this word

Set

Set, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. set; p. pr. & vb. n. setting.] [A.-S. settan, O. Sax. settian, Goth. satjan, O. Fries. setta, L. Ger. setten, D. zetten, Icel. setja, Sw. sätta, Dan. sætte, O. H. Ger. sezzen, N. H. Ger. setzen. Cf. sit, of which set is properly the factitive or causative verb.] 1. To cause to sit; to seat; to make to assume a specified position; to give site or place to; to place; to put; to fix; as, to set a house on a wall of stone; to set a book on a shelf; to set a chest or trunk on its bottom, not on its end; to set a bedstead or a table on its feet or legs. I do set my bow in the cloud. Gen. ix. 11. 2. Hence, to attach to; to put or place on. Set your affection on things above. Col. iii. 2. The Lord set a mark upon Cain. Gen. iv. 15. 3. To make to assume a specified position, attitude, condition, occupation, or the like; to put in a condition or state; to cause to be. The Lord thy God will set thee on high. Deut. xxviii. 1. I am come to set a man at variance against his father. Matt. x. 35. Every incident sets him thinking. Coleridge. 4. To fix firmly; to make fast, permanent, or stable; to render motionless; to give an unchanging place, form, or condition to. “His eyes were set by reason of his age.” 1 Kings xiv. 4. Hence, specifically, (a.) To cause to stop; to obstruct; to fasten to a spot; hence, to occasion difficulty to; to embarrass; as, to set a coach in the mud. “They are hard set to represent the bill as a grievance.” Addison. (b.) To fix beforehand; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid. “The gentleman spoke with a set gesture and countenance.” Carver. “On these three objects his heart was set.” Macaulay. “Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint.” Tennyson. (c.) To fix in the ground, as a tree, &c.; to plant; as, to set out a maple. (d.) To fix, as a precious stone in metal; to fix in metal; hence, to place in or amid something which embellishes and shows off. And him too rich a jewel to be set In vulgar metal for a vulgar use. Dryden. (e.) To render stiff or solid; to convert into curd; as, to set milk for cheese.

To determine; to appoint; to assign; as, to set a price on a horse; to set a time for a meeting, and the like.
To put into a desired position or condition; to adjust; to regulate; to adapt. “He sets his judgment by his passion.” Prior. Hence, specifically, (a.) To put in due order, as an instrument; as, to set, that is, sharpen, a razor; to set, that is, regulate to a standard, a clock, and the like. (b.) To extend and put in position, as the sail of a ship; to spread. (c.) To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the key-note. (d.) To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state, as a limb; to reduce to proper condition; to replace.
To stake at play; to wager; to risk.

I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. Who sets me else? I’ll throw at all. Shak. 8. To fit with music; to adapt, as words to notes; to prepare for singing. Set thy own songs, and sing them to the lute. Dryden. 9. To adorn with something infixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there. High on their heads, with jewels richly set, Each lady wore a radiant coronet. Dryden. Pastoral dales thin set with modern farms. Wordsworth. 10. To point out the seat or position of, as birds, &c., to a hunter;—said of dogs. To set about, to begin, as an action or enterprise; to apply to; as, to set about an undertaking.—To set abroach, to spread. Shak.—To set against, to oppose; to set in comparison, or to oppose as an equivalent in exchange; as, to set one thing against another, or to set off one thing against another.—To set a-going, to cause to begin to move.—To set apart, to separate to a particular use; to separate from the rest; to reserve.—To set a saw, to bend each tooth a little to one side, every alternate one being bent to one side, and the remainder to the other side, so that the kerf may be a little wider than the thickness of the back, to prevent the latter from sticking.—To set aside, to leave out of account; to pass by; to omit; to neglect; to reject; to annul. “Setting aside all other considerations, I will endeavor to know the truth, and yield to that.” Tillotson. “I embrace that of the deluge, and set aside all the rest.” Woodward.—To set at defiance, to defy.—To set at ease, to quiet; to tranquilize; as, to set the heart at ease.—To set at naught, to undervalue; to contemn; to despise. “Ye have set at naught all my counsel.” Prov. i. 25.—To set a trap, snare, or gin, to place it in a situation to catch prey; hence, to lay a plan to deceive and draw into the power of another.—To set at work, to cause to enter on work or action, or to direct how to enter on work.—To set before. (a.) To bring out to view before; to exhibit. (b.) To propose for choice to; to offer to.—To set by. (a.) To set apart or on one side; to reject. (b.) To esteem; to regard; to value. Halliwell.—To set by the compass, to observe and note the bearing or situation of by the compass.—To set down. (a.) To enter in writing; to register; to relate. “Some rules were to be set down for the government of the army.” Clarendon. (b.) To fix; to establish; to ordain. “This law we may name eternal, being that order which God hath set down with himself, for himself to do all things by.” Hooker. (c.) To rebuke or reprehend; as, to set down a disputant.—To set eyes on, to see; to behold; to fasten the eyes on.—To set forth. (a.) To manifest; to offer or present to view; to exhibit; to display. (b.) To publish; to promulgate; to make appear. Waller. (c.) To send out; to prepare and send. [Obs.] “The Venetian admiral had a fleet of sixty galleys, set forth by the Venetians.” Knolles.—To set forward. (a.) To advance; to move on. (b.) To promote.—To set free, to release from confinement, imprisonment, or bondage; to liberate; to emancipate.—To set in, to put in the way; to begin; to give a start to. “If you please to assist and set me in, I will recollect myself.” Collier.—To set in order, to adjust or arrange; to reduce to method. “The rest will I set in order when I come.” 1 Cor. xi. 34.—To set milk. (a.) To expose it in open dishes in order that the cream may rise to the surface. (b.) To cause it to become curdled as by the action of rennet.—To set off. (a.) To separate from a whole; to assign to a particular purpose; to portion off; as, to set off a portion of an estate. (b.) To adorn; to decorate; to embellish. “They set off the worst faces with the best airs.” Addison. (c.) To give a pompous or flattering description of; to eulogize; to recommend; as, to set off a character. (d.) To place against as an equivalent; as, to set off one man’s services against another’s.—To set on or upon. (a.) To incite; to instigate. “Thou, traitor, hast set on thy wife to this.” Shak. (b.) To employ, as in a task. “Set on thy wife to observe.” Shak. (c.) To fix as the mind upon; to determine toward with settled purpose. “It becomes a true lover to have your heart more set upon her good than your own.” Sidney.—To set one’s cap for, to endeavor to catch the attention or affection of; to make love to. [Colloq.]—To set one’s self against, to place one’s self in a state of enmity or opposition to.—To set on fire, to communicate fire to; to inflame; to enkindle the passions of; to irritate.—To set on foot, to set a-going; to put in motion; to start.—To set out. (a.) To assign; to allot; to mark off; to limit; as, to set out the share of each proprietor or heir of an estate; to set out the widow’s thirds. “Determinate portions of those infinite abysses of space and duration, set out, or supposed to be distinguished, from all the rest by known boundaries.” Locke. (b.) To publish, as a proclamation. [Obs.] Bacon. Swift. (c.) To adorn; to embellish. “An ugly woman in a rich habit, set out with jewels, nothing can become.” Dryden. (d.) To raise, equip, and send forth; to furnish. [Rare.] “The Venetians pretend they could set out, in case of great necessity, thirty men-of-war.” Addison. (e.) To show; to display; to recommend; to set off. “I could set out that best side of Luther.” Atterbury. (f.) To show; to prove. [Rare.] “Those very reasons set out how heinous his sin was.” Atterbury. (g.) (Law.) To recite; to state at large.—To set over. (a.) To appoint or constitute as supervisor, inspector, ruler, or commander. (b.) To assign; to transfer; to convey.—To set right, to correct; to put in order.—To set the fashion, to determine what shall be the fashion; to establish the mode.—To set the teeth on edge, to affect the teeth with a disagreeable sensation, as when acids are brought in contact with them.—To set to, to attach to; to affix.—To set up. (a.) To erect; to raise; to elevate; as, to set up a building; to set up a post, a wall, a pillar. (b.) Hence, to exalt; to put in power. “I will . . . set up the throne of David over Israel.” 2 Sam. iii. 10. (c.) To begin, as a new institution; to institute; to establish; to found; as, to set up a manufactory; to set up a school. (d.) To enable to commence a new business; as, to set up a son in trade. (e.) To place in view; as, to set up a mark. (f.) To raise; to utter loudly; as, to set up the voice. “I’ll set up such a note as she shall hear.” Dryden. (g.) To advance; to propose as truth or for reception; as, to set up a new opinion or doctrine. Burnet. (h.) To raise from depression, or to a sufficient fortune; as, this good fortune quite set him up. (i.) (Naut.) To extend, as the shrouds, stays, &c. (j.) (Print.) To put in type; as, to set up a page of copy; to arrange in words, lines, &c., ready for printing; as, to set up type.—To set up the rigging (Naut.), to make it taut by tackles. Dana.

Sĕt, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To pass below the horizon; to go down; to decline; to sink. “Ere the weary sun set in the west.” Shak.

Thus this century sets with little mirth, and the next is likely to arise with more mourning. Fuller.

Sense 2. To fit music to words. [Obs.] Shak.

Sense 3. To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant. “To sow dry, and to set wet.” Old Proverb.

Sense 4. To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate.

Sense 5. To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened.

Sense 6. Hence, to congeal or concrete.

That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set. Boyle.

Sense 7. To have a certain direction in motion; to flow gradually; to move on; to tend; as, the current sets to the north or the west.

Sense 8. To begin to move; to go out or forth; to start. [Rare.]

The king is set from London. Shak.

Sense 9. To indicate the position of game; — said of a dog; as, the dog sets well; also, to hunt game by the aid of a setter.

Sense 10. To apply one's self; to undertake earnestly.

If he sets industrious and sincerely to perform the commands of Christ, he can have no ground of doubting but it shall prove successful to him. Hammond.

To set about, to commence; to begin. — To set forward, to move or march; to begin to march; to advance. — To set in. (a.) To begin; to enter upon a particular state. “When the weather was set in to be very bad.” Addison. (b.) To settle one's self; to become established. — To set off. (a.) To enter upon a journey; to start. (b.) [Typog.] To deface or soil the next sheet; — said of the ink on a recently printed sheet, when another sheet comes in contact with it before it has had time to dry. — To set on or upon. (a.) To begin, as a journey or enterprise. “He that would seriously set upon the search of truth.” Locke. (b.) To assault; to make an attack. “Cassio has been set on in the dark.” Shak. — To set out, to begin a journey or course; as, to set out for London, or from London; to set out in business; to set out in life or the world. — To set to, to apply one's self to. — To set up. (a.) To begin business or a scheme of life; as, to set up in trade; to set up for one's self. (b.) To profess openly; to make pretensions.

Those men who set up for morality without regard to religion, are generally but virtuous in part. Swift.

Sĕt, p. a.

participial adjective

p. a. 1. Fixed; firm; obstinate; as, he is very set in his opinions.

Sense 2. Regular; uniform; formal; as, a set discourse; a set battle. “The set phrase of speech.” Shak.

Sense 3. Established; prescribed; as, set forms of prayer.

Set speech. (a.) A speech carefully prepared before it is delivered in public. (b.) A formal or methodical speech.

Sĕt, n.

noun

n. 1. The act of setting; the descent of the sun or other heavenly body below the horizon. The weary sun hath made a golden set. Shak. 2. That which is set, placed, or fixed; as, (a.) A young plant for growth; as, a set of white-thorn. (b.) That which is staked; a wager; a venture; a stake; hence, a game at venture. [Obs. or rare.] (c.) (Mech.) Permanent change of figure, in consequence of pressure; as, the set of a spring. We will, in France, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard. Shak. That was but civil war, an equal set. Dryden.

A number of things of the same kind, ordinarily used together; a collection of articles which naturally complement each other, each being necessary to the rest; an assortment; a suit; as, a set of chairs, of china, of surgical or mathematical instruments, and the like. [In this sense, often incorrectly written sett.]
A number of persons associated by custom, office, common opinion, or quality, or the like; a division; a group; a clique.

This falls into different divisions or sets of nations connected under particular religions. Ward. 5. Direction or course; as, the set of a current. Dead set. (a.) The act of a setter dog when it discovers the game, and remains intently fixed in pointing it out; hence, also, a fixed or stationary condition arising from obstacle or hindrance; a dead lock. (b.) A concerted scheme to defraud by gaming; a determined onset. — To be at a dead set, to be in a fixed state or condition which precludes further progress. Syn. — Pair; collection; series. See PAIR.