Etymologically
Log in

reset

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Verb: /ɹiːˈsɛt/[1]
  • Noun: /ˈɹiː.sɛt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + set.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To set again in a different way or position: 1628, according to the OED and Merriam-Webster.[2][5] Etymonline dates the verb to the 1650s, of putting a gem into a new setting.[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the verb was used of replanting (1650), resetting jewels (1655) and setting type again (1682).[2] A surgeon could reset a broken limb by 1804.[2] From 1846 a device could be reset, that is, returned to a state of readiness;[2] in computing, from 1944, it meant setting a counter or a binary cell back to zero; by 1946 a device could also reset by itself.[2] The noun, for type set up again, appears in Webster's dictionary of 1847,[2][3] and the general sense of an act of resetting followed in 1882.[2]

Timeline

  • 1628 – to set again in another position.[2][5]
  • 1650 – to replant.[2]
  • 1655 – to put a gem in a new setting.[2][3]
  • 1682 – to set type again.[2]
  • 1804 – to set a broken bone again.[2]
  • 1846 – to return a device to its former state.[2][3]
  • 1847 – noun: type set up again.[2]
  • 1944 – computing: to set a counter to zero.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To set something again or in a new way, such as a gem, a broken bone or type for printing.
  2. To return a gauge, dial or other device to zero or to its starting state.
  3. To fix a rate, price or target at a new level.
  4. (of a device) To return to its initial state by itself.

Noun

  1. An act or instance of resetting.
  2. A device for restoring something to its starting position, such as a reset button.

Word family

  • resettable

Usage notes

Scots law has a reset of different origin: to receive stolen goods, and the offence of doing so.[2][6] It is Middle English recetten, from Old French receter (“to receive, harbour”), from Latin receptō, a frequentative of recipiō (“to receive”),[5][7] and in Middle English it meant to shelter a person, especially an outlaw (about 1300).[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.