Set-off Set"-off` noun [ Set + off .] 1. That which is set off against another thing; an offset.

I do not contemplate such a heroine as a set-off to the many sins imputed to me as committed against woman.

D. Jerrold.

2. That which is used to improve the appearance of anything; a decoration; an ornament.

3. (Law) A counterclaim; a cross debt or demand; a distinct claim filed or set up by the defendant against the plaintiff's demand.

» Set-off differs from recoupment , as the latter generally grows out of the same matter or contract with the plaintiff's claim, while the former grows out of distinct matter, and does not of itself deny the justice of the plaintiff's demand. Offset is sometimes improperly used for the legal term set- off . See Recoupment .

4. (Architecture) Same as Offset , noun , 4.

5. (Print.) See Offset , 7.

Syn. -- Set-off , Offset . -- Offset originally denoted that which branches off or projects, as a shoot from a tree, but the term has long been used in America in the sense of set-off . This use is beginning to obtain in England; though Macaulay uses set-off , and so, perhaps, do a majority of English writers.

Set-stitched Set"-stitched` adjective Stitched according to a formal pattern. "An old set-stiched chair, valanced, and fringed with party-colored worsted bobs." Sterne.

Set-to Set"-to` noun A contest in boxing, in an argument, or the like. [ Colloq.] Halliwell.

Seta Se"ta noun ; plural Setæ . [ Latin seta , saeta , a bristle.] 1. (Biol.) Any slender, more or less rigid, bristlelike organ or part; as the hairs of a caterpillar, the slender spines of a crustacean, the hairlike processes of a protozoan, the bristles or stiff hairs on the leaves of some plants, or the pedicel of the capsule of a moss.

2. (Zoology) (a) One of the movable chitinous spines or hooks of an annelid. They usually arise in clusters from muscular capsules, and are used in locomotion and for defense. They are very diverse in form. (b) One of the spinelike feathers at the base of the bill of certain birds.

Setaceous Se·ta"ceous adjective [ Latin seta a bristle: confer French sétacé .] 1. Set with, or consisting of, bristles; bristly; as, a stiff, setaceous tail.

2. Bristelike in form or texture; as, a setaceous feather; a setaceous leaf.

Setback Set"back` noun 1. (Architecture) Offset, noun , 4.

2. A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy. [ U. S.]

3. A backset; a check; a repulse; a reverse; a relapse. [ Colloq. U.S.]

Setbolt Set"bolt` noun (Shipbuilding) 1. An iron pin, or bolt, for fitting planks closely together. Craig.

2. A bolt used for forcing another bolt out of its hole.

Setdown Set"down` noun The humbling of a person by act or words, especially by a retort or a reproof; the retort or the reproof which has such effect.

Setee Set·ee" noun (Nautical) See 2d Settee .

Seten Set"en obsolete imperfect plural of Sit . Sat. Chaucer.

Setewale Set"e·wale noun See Cetewale . [ Obsolete]

Setfoil Set"foil` noun See Septfoil .

Sethen Seth"en adverb & conj. See Since . [ Obsolete]

Sethic Seth"ic adjective See Sothic .

Setiferous Se·tif"er·ous adjective [ Latin seta a bristle + -ferous .] Producing, or having one or more, bristles.

Setiform Se"ti·form adjective [ Seta + - form : confer French sétiforme .] Having the form or structure of setæ.

Setiger Se"ti·ger noun [ New Latin See Setigerous .] (Zoology) An annelid having setæ; a chætopod.

Setigerous Se·tig"er·ous adjective [ Seta + -gerous .] Covered with bristles; having or bearing a seta or setæ; setiferous; as, setigerous glands; a setigerous segment of an annelid; specifically (Botany) , tipped with a bristle.

Setim Se"tim noun See Shittim .

Setiparous Se·tip"a·rous adjective [ Seta + Latin papere to produce.] (Zoology) Producing setæ; -- said of the organs from which the setæ of annelids arise.

Setireme Se"ti·reme noun [ Seta + Latin remus an oar.] (Zoology) A swimming leg (of an insect) having a fringe of hairs on the margin.

Setness Set"ness noun The quality or state of being set; formality; obstinacy. "The starched setness of a sententious writer." R. Masters.

Seton Se"ton noun [ French séton (cf. Italian setone ), from Latin seta a thick, stiff hair, a bristle.] (Med. & Far.) A few silk threads or horsehairs, or a strip of linen or the like, introduced beneath the skin by a knife or needle, so as to form an issue; also, the issue so formed.

Setose, Setous Se·tose", Se"tous adjective [ Latin setosus , saetosus , from seta , saeta , bristle: confer French séteux .] Thickly set with bristles or bristly hairs.

Setout Set"out` noun A display, as of plate, equipage, etc.; that which is displayed. [ Coloq.] Dickens.

Sett Sett noun See Set , noun , 2 (e) and 3.

Settee Set·tee" noun [ From Set ; confer Settle a seat.] A long seat with a back, -- made to accommodate several persons at once.

Settee Set·tee" noun [ French scétie , scitie .] (Nautical) A vessel with a very long, sharp prow, carrying two or three masts with lateen sails, -- used in the Mediterranean. [ Written also setee .]

Setter Set"ter noun 1. One who, or that which, sets; -- used mostly in composition with a noun, as type setter ; or in combination with an adverb, as a setter on (or inciter), a setter up, a setter forth.

2. (Zoology) A hunting dog of a special breed originally derived from a cross between the spaniel and the pointer. Modern setters are usually trained to indicate the position of game birds by standing in a fixed position, but originally they indicated it by sitting or crouching.

» There are several distinct varieties of setters; as, the Irish , or red , setter ; the Gordon setter , which is usually red or tan varied with black; and the English setter , which is variously colored, but usually white and tawny red, with or without black.

3. One who hunts victims for sharpers. Shak.

4. One who adapts words to music in composition.

5. An adornment; a decoration; -- with off . [ Obsolete]

They come as . . . setters off of thy graces.

Whitlock.

6. (Pottery) A shallow seggar for porcelain. Ure.

Setter Set"ter transitive verb To cut the dewlap (of a cow or an ox), and to insert a seton, so as to cause an issue. [ Prov. Eng.]

Setterwort Set"ter·wort` noun (Botany) The bear's-foot ( Helleborus fœtidus ); -- so called because the root was used in settering , or inserting setons into the dewlaps of cattle. Called also pegroots . Dr. Prior.

Setting Set"ting noun 1. The act of one who, or that which, sets; as, the setting of type, or of gems; the setting of the sun; the setting (hardening) of moist plaster of Paris; the setting (set) of a current.

2. The act of marking the position of game, as a setter does; also, hunting with a setter. Boyle.

3. Something set in, or inserted.

Thou shalt set in it settings of stones.

Ex. xxviii. 17.

4. That in which something, as a gem, is set; as, the gold setting of a jeweled pin.

Setting coat (Architecture) , the finishing or last coat of plastering on walls or ceilings. -- Setting dog , a setter. See Setter , noun , 2. -- Setting pole , a pole, often iron- pointed, used for pushing boats along in shallow water. -- Setting rule . (Print.) A composing rule.

Setting-up exercise Set`ting-up" ex"er·cise Any one of a series of gymnastic exercises used, as in drilling recruits, for the purpose of giving an erect carriage, supple muscles, and an easy control of the limbs.

Settle Set"tle noun [ Middle English setel , setil , a seat, Anglo-Saxon setl : akin to Old High German sezzal , German sessel , Goth. sitls , and English sit . √154. See Sit .] 1. A seat of any kind. [ Obsolete] "Upon the settle of his majesty" Hampole.

2. A bench; especially, a bench with a high back.

3. A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part.

And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle , shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

Ezek. xliii. 14.

Settle bed , a bed convertible into a seat. [ Eng.]

Settle Set"tle transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Settled ; present participle & verbal noun Settling .] [ Middle English setlen , Anglo-Saxon setlan . √154. See Settle , noun In senses 7, 8, and 9 perhaps confused with Middle English sahtlen to reconcile, Anglo-Saxon sahtlian , from saht reconciliation, sacon to contend, dispute. Confer Sake .] 1. To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; esp., to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, or the like.

And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him, until he was ashamed.

2 Kings viii. 11. (Rev. Ver.)

The father thought the time drew on
Of setting in the world his only son.

Dryden.

2. To establish in the pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish; as, to settle a minister. [ U. S.]

3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.

God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.

Chapman.

Hoping that sleep might settle his brains.

Bunyan.

4. To clear of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink; to render pure or clear; -- said of a liquid; as, to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee.

5. To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable condition; -- said of the ground, of roads, and the like; as, clear weather settles the roads.

6. To cause to sink; to lower; to depress; hence, also, to render close or compact; as, to settle the contents of a barrel or bag by shaking it.

7. To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to settle an allowance.

It will settle the wavering, and confirm the doubtful.

Swift.

8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.

9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to settle an account.

10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [ Colloq.] Abbott.

11. To plant with inhabitants; to colonize; to people; as, the French first settled Canada; the Puritans settled New England; Plymouth was settled in 1620.

To settle on or upon , to confer upon by permanent grant; to assure to. "I . . . have settled upon him a good annuity." Addison. -- To settle the land (Nautical) , to cause it to sink, or appear lower, by receding from it.

Syn. -- To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust; determine; decide.

Settle Set"tle intransitive verb 1. To become fixed or permanent; to become stationary; to establish one's self or itself; to assume a lasting form, condition, direction, or the like, in place of a temporary or changing state.

The wind came about and settled in the west.

Bacon.

Chyle . . . runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red.

Arbuthnot.

2. To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain.

3. To enter into the married state, or the state of a householder.

As people marry now and settle .

Prior.

4. To be established in an employment or profession; as, to settle in the practice of law.

5. To become firm, dry, and hard, as the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared; as, the roads settled late in the spring.

6. To become clear after being turbid or obscure; to clarify by depositing matter held in suspension; as, the weather settled ; wine settles by standing.

A government, on such occasions, is always thick before it settles .

Addison.

7. To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir.

8. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the foundation of a house, etc.

9. To become calm; to cease from agitation.

Till the fury of his highness settle ,
Come not before him.

Shak.

10. To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors.

11. To make a jointure for a wife.

He sighs with most success that settles well.

Garth.

Settledness Set"tled·ness noun The quality or state of being settled; confirmed state. [ R.] Bp. Hall.

Settlement Set"tle·ment noun 1. The act of setting, or the state of being settled. Specifically: --

(a) Establishment in life, in business, condition, etc.; ordination or installation as pastor.

Every man living has a design in his head upon wealth power, or settlement in the world.

L'Estrange.

(b) The act of peopling, or state of being peopled; act of planting, as a colony; colonization; occupation by settlers; as, the settlement of a new country.

(c) The act or process of adjusting or determining; composure of doubts or differences; pacification; liquidation of accounts; arrangement; adjustment; as, settlement of a controversy, of accounts, etc.

(d) Bestowal, or giving possession, under legal sanction; the act of giving or conferring anything in a formal and permanent manner.

My flocks, my fields, my woods, my pastures take,
With settlement as good as law can make.

Dryden.

(e) (Law) A disposition of property for the benefit of some person or persons, usually through the medium of trustees, and for the benefit of a wife, children, or other relatives; jointure granted to a wife, or the act of granting it.

2. That which settles, or is settled, established, or fixed. Specifically: --

(a) Matter that subsides; settlings; sediment; lees; dregs. [ Obsolete]

Fuller's earth left a thick settlement .

Mortimer.

(b) A colony newly established; a place or region newly settled; as, settlement in the West.

(c) That which is bestowed formally and permanently; the sum secured to a person; especially, a jointure made to a woman at her marriage; also, in the United States, a sum of money or other property formerly granted to a pastor in additional to his salary.

3. (Architecture) (a) The gradual sinking of a building, whether by the yielding of the ground under the foundation, or by the compression of the joints or the material. (b) plural Fractures or dislocations caused by settlement.

4. (Law) A settled place of abode; residence; a right growing out of residence; legal residence or establishment of a person in a particular parish or town, which entitles him to maintenance if a pauper, and subjects the parish or town to his support. Blackstone. Bouvier.

Act of settlement (Eng. Hist.) , the statute of 12 and 13 William III, by which the crown was limited to the present reigning house (the house of Hanover). Blackstone.

Settler Set"tler noun 1. One who settles, becomes fixed, established, etc.

2. Especially, one who establishes himself in a new region or a colony; a colonist; a planter; as, the first settlers of New England.

3. That which settles or finishes; hence, a blow, etc., which settles or decides a contest. [ Colloq.]

4. A vessel, as a tub, in which something, as pulverized ore suspended in a liquid, is allowed to settle.

Settling Set"tling noun 1. The act of one who, or that which, settles; the act of establishing one's self, of colonizing, subsiding, adjusting, etc.

2. plural That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs; sediment. Milton.

Settling day , a day for settling accounts, as in the stock market.

Setula Set"u·la noun ; plural Setulæ . [ Latin setula , saetula , dim. of seta , saeta , bristle.] A small, short hair or bristle; a small seta.

Setule Set"ule noun [ See Setula .] A setula.

Setulose Set"u·lose` adjective Having small bristles or setæ.

Setwall Set"wall` noun [ CF. Cetewale .] (Botany) A plant formerly valued for its restorative qualities ( Valeriana officinalis , or V. Pyrenaica ). [ Obsolete] [ Written also setwal .] Chaucer.

Seven Sev"en adjective [ Middle English seven , seoven , seofen , Anglo-Saxon seofon , seofan , seofen ; akin to Dutch zeven , Old Saxon , Goth., & Old High German sibun , German sieben , Icelandic sjau , sjö , Swedish sju , Danish syv , Lithuanian septyni , Russian seme , W. saith , Gael. seachd , Ir. seacht , Latin septem , Greek ........., Sanskrit saptan . √305. Confer Hebdomad , Heptagon , September .] One more than six; six and one added; as, seven days make one week.

Seven sciences . See the Note under Science , noun , 4. -- Seven stars (Astron.) , the Pleiades. -- Seven wonders of the world . See under Wonders . -- Seven-year apple (Botany) , a rubiaceous shrub ( Genipa clusiifolia ) growing in the West Indies; also, its edible fruit. -- Seven-year vine (Botany) , a tropical climbing plant ( Ipomœa tuberosa ) related to the morning- glory.

Seven Sev"en noun 1. The number greater by one than six; seven units or objects.

Of every beast, and bird, and insect small,
Game sevens and pairs.

Milton.

2. A symbol representing seven units, as 7, or vii.

Seven-shooter Sev"en-shoot`er noun A firearm, esp. a pistol, with seven barrels or chambers for cartridges, or one capable of firing seven shots without reloading. [ Colloq.]

Seven-thirties Sev`en-thir"ties noun plural A name given to three several issues of United States Treasury notes, made during the Civil War, in denominations of $50 and over, bearing interest at the rate of seven and three tenths (thirty hundredths) per cent annually. Within a few years they were all redeemed or funded.

Seven-up Sev"en-up` noun The game of cards called also all fours , and old sledge . [ U. S.]

Sevenfold Sev"en·fold` adjective Repeated seven times; having seven thicknesses; increased to seven times the size or amount. " Sevenfold rage." Milton.

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