set English · revision 1832

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=ine-pro *sed-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɛt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|setten]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[inh|ang|settan|t=to cause to sit, put in a place, fix firmly]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) from [[gem-pro|*satjanan]],^(Barnhart 1995) the causative of the verb that became [[sit]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Its cognates are [[ofs|setta]], [[osx|settian]], [[nl|zetten]], [[goh|sezzen]] (modern [[de|setzen]]), [[non|setja]] and [[got|𐍃𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=satjan]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) and its root is [[ine-pro|*sod-]], a variant of [[m|ine-pro|*sed-|t=to sit]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The adjective is the past participle of the verb.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) The noun meaning “a group, a collection” comes partly from the verb and partly from [[m|fro|sette|t=sequence]], a variant of [[m|fro|secte]], from Medieval Latin [[m|la|secta|t=retinue]], from Latin [[m|la|secta|t=a following, faction]] (see [[sect]]);^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) Skeat first proposed this link with ''sect''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To cause to sit, to put in a place, to fix firmly (Old English, about 725 in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English ''settan'' already meant “to put in a definite place”, “to arrange, fix” and “to appoint (a time)”.^(Etymonline) Its intransitive uses grew out of reflexive ones: ''the jelly sets'' was earlier reflexive,^(Weekley 1921) and ''the sun sets'', recorded from the mid-13th century, may follow the Scandinavian reflexive ''setjask''.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Weekley 1921) ''Set'' and ''sit'' have been confused since the early 14th century, partly because their past forms were alike and partly because some of their senses overlap.^(Barnhart 1995)^(COED 2004)^(Etymonline) The verb came to be used in so many idioms that the Century Dictionary compared it to ''put'', ''do'' and ''make'', words that take their meaning from the context.^(Etymonline) The noun ''set'' first meant a religious body (1387),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) then a group of people sharing status, habits or interests (1680s)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a fashionable social circle (1777).^(OED 1989) Things that belong together were called a ''set'' from 1443,^(Barnhart 1995) and the word was later applied to a set of games in tennis (1570s), the scenery of a play (by 1859), a radio or telephone apparatus (1891) and a session of music played in a club (about 1925).^(Etymonline) The adjective went from “appointed beforehand, prescribed” in late Old English to “fixed, unmoving” and, from 1844, “ready, prepared”;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) ''get set!'' in sprinting is attested by 1890.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Bartlett (1848) quoted ''He is very set in his ways'' as American usage.^(Bartlett 1848)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''settan'', to cause to sit, to place.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * late Old English – ''set'' (adjective), appointed, prescribed.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1200 – (intransitive) to be seated.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – of the sun, to go down.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1387 – a religious body, a sect (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1443 – a number of things that belong together.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1570s – a set of games in tennis.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1682 – a group of people with shared status or interests.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1777 – a fashionable social circle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1844 – (adjective) ready, prepared.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – the scenery of a theatre scene.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1891 – an apparatus such as a telephone or radio set.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put something in a particular place or position.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put into a particular state: ''set free''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fix or decide on: ''set a date''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To adjust (a clock or instrument) to a required point.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To prepare: ''set the table''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put (a broken bone) back into place.^(AHD)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # To arrange (type or text) for [[printing]].^(COED 2004)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # Of a liquid, to become firm or hard: ''the jelly set''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of the sun or moon, to go down below the [[horizon]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A group of things of the same kind that belong together: ''a chess set''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A group of people with shared interests or status: ''the jet set''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The scenery for a play, or the place where a film is shot.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A radio or television receiver.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # A group of games forming a unit in [[tennis]] and similar sports.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # A session of music played before an intermission.^(AHD)

+ # The direction of flow of wind or water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Fixed by agreement or authority: ''set hours''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Unwilling to change: ''set in their ways''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Determined: ''set on going''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Ready: ''all set''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[offset]]

+ * [[onset]]

+ * [[outset]]

+ * [[deep-set]]

+ * [[heavyset]]

+ * [[mindset]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sit]]

+ * [[seat]]

+ * [[settle]]

+ * [[sect]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Because ''set'' originally meant “to cause to sit”, it is mostly transitive (''she sets the book on the table''), while ''sit'' is mostly intransitive; standard exceptions are ''the sun sets'' and ''the glue sets'', and a hen may either ''set'' or ''sit'' on her eggs.^(AHD)^(RHWU) Using ''set'' for ''sit'' in the sense “to be seated” (''set by me'') is nonstandard.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}