set 
14. To fix with settled or earnest purpose; di- 
rect or fix intently, as the hopes or affections ; 
bend : as, she had set her heart on going. 
In you haue I sette all my hope. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 680. 
I have set my affection to the house of my God. 
1 Chion. xxix. 3. 
K. John having now gotten a Vacation, and a Time of 
Ease which agreed much better with his Nature than 
Wars, sets his Mind wholly upon Pleasures. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 69. 
Minds altogether set on trade and profit. Addison, 
15. To stake at play; wager; risk; also, to bet 
with. 
I have set my life upon a cast, 
And I will stand the hazard of the die. 
Shak., Rich. III., v. 4. 9. 
Give you him all you play for ; never set him ; 
For he will have it. B. Jonson, Alchemist, i. 1. 
16. To embarrass; perplex; pose; bring to a 
mental standstill. 
Learning was pos'd ; Philosophic was set; 
Sophisters taken in a fisher's net. 
0. Herbert, The Church Militant. 
To shew how hard they are set in this particular, there 
are several who for want of other materials are forced to 
represent the bill ... as a kind of grievance. 
Addison, Freeholder, No. 20. 
I was hard set what to do. It was rudeness to refuse, 
but I could not stand it, and sent it away. 
The Century, XXXVIII. 662. 
17. In music: (a) To fit, as words to music or 
music to words; adapt; arrange for musical 
performance; also, to arrange or transcribe for 
a particular voice or instrument. 
Set thy own songs, and sing them to thy lute. Dryden. 
He had been very successful in setting such old songs 
as "Orpheus with his lute." 
Tennyson, The Window, Prefatory Note. 
In the same year Purcell set Sir Charles Sedley's Ode 
for the queen's birthday, Love's Goddess sure was blind. 
Grove, Diet Music, III. 49. 
Music, set to madrigals, 
Loitered all day through groves and halls. 
D. 0. Kossetti, Dante at Verona. 
(6) To pitch. 
I had one day set the hundredth psalm, and was singing 
the first line, in order to put the congregation into tune. 
Spectator. 
18. To hold; keep (see keep, v. t. and i., 1); 
heed; regard: followed by an object noun or 
pronoun expressing value (store, much, etc., es- 
pecially small value, mite, groat, haw, straw, tare, 
cress (kers), etc., lite, little, naught, short, etc.), 
with the thing in question, preceded by by 
(sometimes of), in the sense of 'about, con- 
cerning.' The object pronouns much, lite, little, naught 
were taken later as adverbs, and the transitive verb, by 
5523 
All his faults observed, 
Set In a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote. 
Shak., J. C., iv. 3. 98. 
24f. To flute or crimp; adjust the plaits of: 
as, to set a ruff with a poking-stick. 
His linen collar labyrinthian set, 
Whose thousand double turnings never met. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, III. vil. 39. 
25f. To point out or mark, as game-birds, by 
crouching, or standing stiffly, with the muzzle 
directed toward the scent ; point : as, a dog sets 
a covey of partridges. See setter 1 . Hence 26. 
To mark or designate for prey, in allusion to a 
dog which sets birds ; hunt, as game, with a set- 
ter ; formerly, also, to take, as birds, with a net. 
He with his squadron overtakes a coach which they 
had set overnight, having intelligence of a booty of four 
hundred pounds in it. 
Memoirs of Du Vail, 1670 (Harl. Misc., III. Sll). (Dames.) 
A combination of sharpers, it seems, had long set him 
as a man of fortune. 
Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison, IV. 294. (Dames.) 
27. See the quotation. 
A bell of about 52 cwt. at Hereford, which he and some 
other boys used to raise and set (i. e. ring till it stands 
mouth upwards). 
Sir E. Beckett, Clocks and Watches, p. 370. 
28. To push ; propel by pushing with a pole 
against the bank or bottom of the stream : said 
of boats. See setting-pole. [Local, Eng., and 
U. S.] 
With rowing, drawing, and getting [our boats], we went 
this day 7 miles more. Hakluyts Voyages, I. 860. 
29. To direct or accompany part or all of the 
way : as, to set one home ; to set one on one's 
way. 
He directed me to the Wicket-Gate, which else I should 
never have found, and so set me into the way that hatli 
led me directly to this house. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 118. 
He went out with Will ; he said he were going to set him 
a Dart of the way. ... So the two lads set off together. 
Mrs. GaskeU, Mary Barton, xxii. 
30. To form, after fertilization, for develop- 
ment, as fruit or seed. 
Flowers legitimately fertilised set seeds under condi- 
tions which cause the almost complete failure of illegiti- 
mately fertilised flowers. 
Darwin, Different Forms of Flowers, p. 28. 
31. In printing: (a) To place in the proper 
order for reading, as types representing let- 
ters, spaces, punctuation-marks, etc. ; compose, 
(ft) To put into type: as, to set a manuscript: 
sometimes with up. (e) To put (newly printed 
sheets) aside until the ink is perfectly dry, and 
sets in the paper. 32. Naut. : (a) To loosen 
and extend; spread to the wind: as, to set the 
set 
To set a paper, in university use, to prepare or formu- 
late an examination-paper. 
We are informed that at the Universities there is a 
difficulty in finding persons capable of setting papers in 
8prlsh. Quarterly Rev., CiAII. 43. 
To set apart See aparfi, i (d).-To set a pole, in f th- 
ing to fasten a pole(with a line and baited hook attached) 
tosome support, to be left (generally over night) for fish 
to take the bait. To set aside, (o) To omit for the 
present ; leave out of the question. 
- will i ' 
idiomatic phrase to set by) set by in the transitive use 
being equivalent to a unitary verb, 'value, esteem, and 
taking as such a passive construction. 
I sette nat an haw of his proverbes. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 659. 
He that good manners seemes to lack, 
No wyse man doth set by ; 
Wythout condicions vertuous, 
Thou art not worth a flye. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 72. 
Set nought by golde ne grotes, 
Theyr names If I durst tell. 
Skelton, Colyn Cloute, 1. 160. 
I do not set my life at a pin's fee. 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 4. 67. 
Sir Thomas Clifford, who appears a very fine gentleman, 
and much set by at Court for his activity in going to sea, 
and stoutness every where, and stirring up and down. 
Pepys, Diary, II. 456. 
God knows how hard it is to help setting a good deal by 
one's children. S. Judd, Margaret, ii. 1. 
19t. To assume ; suppose ; posit. 
I set the werste, lest that ye dreden this; 
Men wolde wondren sen hym come or gon. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 367. 
20. To contrive; plan. 
Most freely I confess, myself and Toby 
Set this device against Malvolio here. 
Shak., T. N., v. 1. 368. 
21. To put in opposition ; oppose; offset. 
Will you set your wit to a fool's? 
Shak., T. and C., ii. 1. 94. 
22. To let to a tenant; lease. [Now prov. 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
For to save hym in his ryght 
My goodes beth sette and solde. 
Robin Hood, i. 11. (Halliwell.) 
They care not ... at how unreasonable rates they set 
their grounds. Bp. Hall, Cases of Conscience, i. 1. 
About this time [1750] the custom of setting or leasing 
a mine on tribute came into use. 
R. Hunt, British Mining, p. 107. 
23. To write ; note ; enter, as in a book. Com- 
pare to set doirn (ft), below. 
land. 33." In leather-manuf., 
by wetting it, spreading it on a stone or table, 
aiid beating it with the slicker until it adheres 
to the table by atmospheric pressure. 34. To 
become; suit. 
Tak down, tak down the mast o' goud ; 
Set up the mast o' tree ; 
111 sets it a forsaken lady 
To sail sae gallantlie. 
Fair Annie of Lochroyan (Child's Ballads, II. 103). 
Lath floated and set fair, lath laid and set. See 
lathi. Set close, a printing-house order to compose 
types in a compact style. Set her, him, or you UP, a 
phrase of contempt applied to a person who makes undue 
show or pretension : as, she must have her new carriage ; 
set her up ! set you up with your fine company ! [Prov. 
Eng and Scotch.] Set out, in printing: (a) [set, pp.] 
Said of a case or a font of type that has been exhausted. 
(6) [set, impv.] An order to compose types so as to occupy 
much space.- Setting-out rod. See rodL- Setting 
the wort. Same as pitching, 4. Setting-up screw. 
See Twl. Set Wide, a printing-house order to space 
words widely in composing. To be dead set against. 
See dead. to set abroach. See abroach. TO set a 
case, to assume ; suppose ; take for granted. Compare 
put the case, under put'. 
Yet sette I coax ye have bothe myght and licence for to 
venge yow. Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. 
To set against, (a) To set in comparison ; oppose ; also, 
to set in wager. 
If he [Edward III.] would set his Kingdom of England, 
though much meaner, against his of France, he would 
then accept the Challenge, and meet him in the Field in 
single Combat. Baker, Chronicles, p. 119. 
Setting the probabilities of the story against the credit 
of the witnesses. 
(6) To prejudice against ; incline to an unfriendly opinion 
of : as, to set one friend against another. 
To set an example, to do that which may or should serve 
as a pattern or model, as in conduct, manners, or morals. 
Their Master Christ gave them this precept, and set 
them this example. Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
And say, to which shall our applause belong, . . . 
Or he who bids thee face with steady view 
Proud fortune, and look shallow greatness through, 
It must not be forgotten that, setting aside the coast 
cities, the land in which Trieste stands has for ages been 
a Slavonic land. E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 76. 
(6) To reject. 
I'll look into the pretensions of each, and shew upon 
what ground 'tis that I embrace that of the deluge, and 
set aside all the rest. 
Woodward, Essay towards a Nat. Hist, of the Earth. 
(c) To discard; annul : as, to set aside a verdict. To set 
at defiance. See df fiance. To set at ease, to quiet; 
content : as, to set the mind at ease. To set at liberty, 
to release from confinement or imprisonment ; free. 
At the same time that I was Released there were set at 
liberty about xx English men. 
Webbe, Travels (ed. Arher), p. 29. 
To set at naught. See naught. To set before, (o) 
To present to the view of ; exhibit or display to. 
Behold, I have set before thee an open door. Rev. iii. 8. 
(b) To serve up to, as food or drink. 
Whatsoever is set before you, eat. 1 Cor. x. 27. 
The bishop shewed me the convent with great civility, 
and set before us an elegant collation of dryed sweetmeats, 
prunellas, and pistachio nuts. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. 98. 
To set by. (a) To put aside or away. 
It is a custom with the Arabs never to set by any thing 
that comes to the table, so that, when they kill a sheep, 
they dress it all. call in their neighbours and the poor 
to finish every thing. 
Pococke, Description of the East, I. 5i. 
(b) See def. 18. To set by the ears. See earl. Jo 
set down () To place upon the floor or ground ; de- 
posit : as, to set down one's burden ; to set doicn a passen- 
ger at the station. 
The Dorchester man being set down at Connecticut, near 
the Plimouth trading house, the governour, Mr. Bradford, 
wrote to them, complaining of it as an injury. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 198. 
(6) To enter in writing ; make a note of ; note. 
My tables meet it is I set it down 
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 5. 107. 
Even the great Islands, E. Indies many of them, are 
without Names, or at least so variously set down that I 
find the same Islands named by divers Names. 
Dampier, Voyages, I. 308. 
(ct) To ordain ; fix ; establish. 
This law . . . which God before all others hath set down 
with himself, for himself to do all things by. Hooker, 
(d) To ascribe ; attribute : as, you may set his silence 
down to diffidence, (e) To count ; consider ; regard. 
Set it down that a habit of secrecy is both politic and 
moral. Bacon, Simulation and Dissimulation (ed. 1887X 
You may set it down as mere bewilderment. 
Fitch, Lects. on Teaching, p. 189. 
(/t) To lower. 
But 111 set down the pegs that make this music. 
Shak., Othello, ii. 1. 203. 
(g) To take to task; rebuke; snub. [Colloq.] To set 
eyes on. Seeej/i. 
No single soul 
Can we set eye on. 
Shak., Cymbeline, iv. 2. 131. 
To set fire ont, set fire to, to apply fire to ; set on fire. 
Thenne, 
Though fire be sette on it, it shal not brenne. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 141. 
To set forth, (o) To present to view or consideration ; 
represent by words ; make known fully ; declare. 
When we assemble and meet together ... to set forth 
his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word. 
Boo* of Common Prayer, Exhortation to Confession. 
I ought diligently to hear and to learn the gospel, and 
to set it forth both in word or talking and also in example 
of living. J. Bradford, Works (Parker Soc. , 1853), II. 258. 
We wish to set forth that we in our island, you on your 
continent, we in Middle England, you in New, are breth- 
ren in one common heritage. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lects., p. 54. 
(b) To publish ; issue. 
All the fforesaid publique Readers of arte and the com- 
mon lawes shall once within every six yeares set forth 
some new hookes Jnprint^ (E E T g _ ^ ^ , , 
Mr. Rogers hath -fgj*. ''"'^V^nd, I. 415. 
(ct) To prepare and send out ; equip ; furnish ; fit out. 
They are very curious and ambitious in setting forth their 
Funeralls. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 532. 
We hope to sett forth a ship our selves with in this 
Quoted in Bradford's Plymouth Plantation, p. 120. 
(dt) To adorn ; decorate. 
Every other day hightherto she hath a newe devyce of 
