Word: set Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English set, sete, sette (“that which is set, the act of setting, seat”), from Old English set (“setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold”) and Old English seten (“a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land”), related to Old English settan (“to set”). Compare Middle Low German gesette (“a set, suite”), Old English gesetl (“assembly”). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette (“a religious sect”), from Medieval Latin secta (“retinue”), from Latin secta (“a faction”). See sect. It is quite possible that the modern word is more of a merger between both, however. Pronunciation: /sɛt/ 1. A young plant fit for setting out; a slip; shoot. 2. A rudimentary fruit. 3. The setting of the sun or other luminary; (by extension) the close of the day. Example: The weary sun hath made a golden set. Example: And a rose-bush leans upon, / Thou that faintly smilest still, / As a Naiad in a well, / Looking at the set of day, […] 4. General movement; direction; drift; tendency. Labels: figuratively, literally Example: Here and there, amongst individuals alive to the particular evils of the age, and watching the very set of the current, there may have been even a more systematic counteraction applied to the mischief. Example: He put his eye to the alidade. “I thought so! Zero five four and that's allowing nothing for set and drift along the line of bearing. We're inside the departure point now[…]” 5. A matching collection of similar things. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 2, Noun.) Example: a set of tables 6. A collection of various objects for a particular purpose. Example: a set of tools 7. An object made up of several parts. Example: a set of steps 8. A collection of zero or more objects, possibly infinite in size, and disregarding any order or repetition of the objects which may be contained within it. 9. Set theory. Labels: informal, plural 10. A group of people, usually meeting socially or connected through some shared interest, activity, attribute, etc. Example: the country set Example: That he took perfumed baths is a truth; and he used to say that he took them after meeting certain men of a very low set in hall. 11. The scenery for a film or play. 12. the general locations and area where a movie’s, a film’s, or a video’s scenery is arranged to be filmed also including places for actors, assorted crew, director, producers which are typically not filmed. 13. The initial or basic formation of dancers. 14. A group of repetitions of a single exercise performed one after the other without rest. Example: Meronym: reps Example: This is the fourth set of benchpresses. 15. A complete series of games, forming part of a match. 16. A complete series of points, forming part of a match. 17. The act of directing the ball to a teammate for an attack. 18. A musical performance by a band, disc jockey, etc., consisting of several musical pieces. Example: You heard “oh, Jeremy Corbyn” everywhere: at the silent disco, during Radiohead’s Friday night headlining set, midway through the Other stage appearance by rapper Stormzy, who gamely joined in. 19. A drum kit, a drum set. Example: He plays the set on Saturdays. 20. A class group in a subject where pupils are divided by ability. Labels: UK Example: Looking at pupil attainment, the study found that students with the same Key Stage 3 scores could have their GCSE grade raised or lowered by up to half a grade as a result of being placed in a higher or lower set. 21. Three of a kind, especially if two cards are in one's hand and the third is on the board. Compare trips (“three of a kind, especially with two cards on the board and one in one's hand”). Labels: slang