setting

▪ I. setting, n. Orkney and Shetland.
    Also 6 settein, 7–9 setten, 9 settin, -een.
    [a. ON. séttung-r sixth part, f. sétte sixth.]
    A unit of weight in the Orkney and Shetland Isles; the sixth part of a ‘meal’ (meal n.⁴); identical with the lispound.

1576 in Oppress. Orkney & Zetl. (1859) 72 Ane barrell of malt of nyne setteins wecht. 1588 Rot. Scacc. Reg. Scot. XXI. 390 Selling..63 lastis 23,003 settingis 4 marks coist, 125 lasts 1002 settingis beir, 95 lastis 1004 settingis flesche. 1703 M. Martin Descr. West. Isles 370 A Young Boy..stole a setten of Barley, which is about twenty eight Pound Weight. 1814 J. Shirreff Agric. Shetl. 159 Twenty-four marks make a settin or lispund... Six settins or lispunds make a meil.

▪ II. setting, vbl. n.¹
    (ˈsɛtɪŋ)
    [f. set v.¹ + -ing¹.]
    I. 1. a. The action of the verb set in various transitive senses; putting, placing, planting, etc. Also, the fact of being set.

1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxxxvi. (1495) 692 The rose tree spryngith somtyme by settynge and plantynge and somtyme by graffynge. 1427–8 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 68 Also for settyng of þe same ston iij dayes. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iii. (1577) P j, M. Thomas..writte to his wife, and did hir to weete hys setting at libertie. 1626 Bacon Sylva §423 A Tree, at the first Setting, should not be Shaken, vntill it hath taken Root fully. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Setting, when applied to the sails, is the loosening and expanding them. 1796 W. Jones, etc. Key to Art of Ringing Pref. 1 Instructions for the attainment of the practical part of the art, from the setting of a Bell itself to the perfect knowledge of the most difficult peals. 1841 Guide to Trade, Baker 38 This is called the quarter sponge, and the operation is denominated setting. 1881 Greener Gun 235 At that time setting or straightening was so little known that many of the barrels were far from being straight. 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., Setting of the Brick, the fixing of the bricks in a kiln. 1921 H. G. Crockett Pract. Leather Manuf. ii. x. 141 When the goods have become sufficiently dry for setting, and in a fairly stiff condition, they are taken down and brushed over with water. 1953 D. Woodroffe Leather Dressing xiv. 144 Sometimes the setting is done by striking out a second time on the same machine. 1965 M. McIntyre Place of Quiet Waters ii. 23 There was a..bucksaw, badly in need of setting.

    † b. An ambush or trap. Obs.

c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. viii. (1869) 180 Keepe þee..from hise settinges and from hise nettes.

    c. Sport. (a) The action of a dog in indicating game.

1621 Markham Hungers Prev. 265 To make a true election of your dogge, which you intend to apply to this purpose of Setting. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict., Setting-dog, a Dog train'd up to the Setting of Partridges. 1819 T. B. Johnson Shooter's Comp. 22 Dogs, called setters, are now to be met with of all forms, miserably deficient in the most prominent quality, setting.

    (b) The sport of ‘putting up’ game with a setter.

1661 Boyle Certain Physiol. Ess. (1669) 36 When I go a Hawking or Setting. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 20 Aug. 1654, I went a setting and hawking. 1770 G. White Selborne, Let. to Pennant 12 May, I knew a lover of setting, an old sportsman. 1818 Gentl. Mag. LXXXVIII. ii. 113 His great skill in all the sports of the field, especially that of Setting, of which diversion his Lordship was passionately fond.

    d. Sc. and dial. The action of letting or leasing (land, etc.); the right to do this; a lease.

1397 in Spalding Club Miscell. V. 252 All giftys, taliees, settyngys, and condysyoungs mad or to be mad be dame Isabell, Contas of Mar, to the sayd George hir brothir. 1546 Yorks. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) 246 The saide founder..shall have the lettinge, settinge, boynes, services and customes of all the landes. 1634–46 Row Hist. Kirk (1842) 173 Cruell oppression of the poore tenants; evidenced, 10. By deare setting of rowms. 1760 Patrington Haven Act 16 The intention of such letting or setting. 1898 Longman's Mag. Apr. 546 The lettings, here called ‘settings’ or ‘takings’, are at Candlemas.

    e. Mining. The act of contracting with miners for work to be done.

1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall, etc. xv. 569 Of the remainder he paid the adventurers one-half, or one-quarter, as may have been agreed upon according to the supposed prospects of the mine at the time of setting. 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., Setting, sometimes termed ‘letting’,..in the slate industry,..means agreeing upon a contract for a month.

    2. a. The manner or position in which anything is set, fixed, or placed. In Croquet, any one of the different arrangements of the hoops and pegs on the ground.

14.. Wycliffite Bible, 2 Kings ii. 19 marg., That is, the setting of the citee was best for profetis. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 279 How ȝe schull pray to God, þe settyng of þe chyrch hyt tellyþe you: Hit ys sette yn þe est, techyng [etc.]. 1523–34 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 The temperynge to go brode and narrowe is in the settyng of the culture [= coulter]. 1625 Middleton Game at Chess Induct. 40, I saw the bravest setting for a game now That ever mine eye fix'd on. 1868 W. J. Whitmore Croquet Tactics ii. 19 There are as many as eight different settings. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 254/1 (Croquet) The original setting had ten hoops... Finally came the six-hoop or championship setting. 1948 ‘Duplex’ Sharpening Small Tools iv. 71 To adjust the setting of the plane..the tension screw is slightly slackened and the set adjustment lever is moved upwards or downwards. 1979 Homes & Gardens June 154/1 Some recent models also have a thermometer and control dial so you are able to alter the setting.

    b. The inclination or dip of an axle: = set n.¹ 18 a.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1162 The setting or form of the axle.

    c. Gasworks. The manner of placing retorts in a furnace; concr. a group or set of retorts placed together.

1872 W. C. Holmes & Co. Manag. Gas Works 15 The setting of the retorts is a matter of the utmost importance. 1877 W. Richards Manuf. Coal Gas 354 Of all the apparatus of a gasworks, unquestionably the most important are the settings of retorts. 1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 91/2 A furnace or bed of retorts is composed of a group or setting, heated by a separate fire.

    d. Type-founding. The position of the face of a letter on the body or shank. Cf. set n.¹ 19 c.

1887 J. Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 710/1 All founders now supply imitations of the old types. Comparing the old face and the modern characters, the latter are more regular in size, lining, setting, and colour,—using these words in the technical sense of the founder.

    e. A set of cutlery or crockery, or of both, sufficient for one place at table. Cf. place-setting s.v. place n.¹ 29.

1952 A. Vanderbilt Compl. Bk. Etiquette ix. 98 A young bride can do very well with four- or six-place settings consisting of dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, butter knife, teaspoon, and dessert spoon. 1961 Times 30 May 15/6 Veneered oak canteen containing settings for 8 people, including fish knives and forks, in Mappin Plate. 1975 M. Orr Rich Girl, Poor Girl xxi. 278 Maggie..was given..a twelve-piece setting of Danish flatware.

    † 3. Putting into words, redaction. Obs.

c 1450 Lovelich Grail lvi. 519 For þ⊇ ton storie the tothir Medlyth withal, After the settyng Of the forseid Robert That somtym it translated. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye i. vi. 21 Therefore thus after the settynge of mayster Alphonse is youre legende red in all places of this order.

    † 4. A sum staked at play; a bet or stake. Obs.

1540 Palsgr. Acolastus iv. iii. T j, All the stakes and settynges that be sette within the dyce borde, whiche lye on lyttell heapes.

    † 5. A set (of stones) with which a surface is ‘set’ or studded. Obs. rare^—1.

1611 Bible Exod. xxviii. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones [margin, Hebr. fill in it fillings of stone].

    6. a. The manner in which a jewel is ‘set’ or mounted; concr. the frame or bed (of precious metal or the like) in which a jewel is set.

1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 192 note, A very valuable antique ring, the setting of which did not meet his approbation. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. Ser. ii. ii. Aristocr. Lett. (1869) 48 The setting is more valuable than the jewel. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 350/2 There are two systems of setting practised—viz., Roman setting, and what is called colletting.

    b. transf. and fig. The environment or surroundings in which a person or thing is ‘set’; the literary framework of a narrative or other composition; the mounting of a play.

1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. §8. 30 The connecting links—the framing and setting—of these Revelations. 1874 Sayce Compar. Philol. viii. 315 Mythology has a setting in geography and history. 1885 Manch. Exam. 27 Jan. 5/4 The setting of the piece is charming, and it is quite wonderful how much has been made of a little stage.

    c. Psychol. and Sociol. A person's disposition or cast of mind formed by experience and colouring his behaviour. Also, the immediate environment considered as an influence upon behaviour; spec. an environment designed to create a particular atmosphere, esp. for experiments with mind-affecting drugs.

1914 M. Prince Unconscious x. 311 Antecedent experiences of life..conserved in the unconscious formed a setting that gave the point of view and attitude of mind. 1954 Barker & Wright Midwest & its Children iii. 45 A behavior setting has been defined as a standing pattern of behavior and as part of the milieu which are syno⁓morphic and in which the milieu is circumjacent to the behavior. Ibid. vi. 223 A day from the life of a child in the settings of a community gives a sample of behavior and habitat that is..limited. 1963 E. Goffman Behav. in Public Places ii. 21 The same physical space can come to be used as a setting for more than one social occasion, and hence as a locus for more than one set of expectations. 1968 Science 13 Dec. 1236/1 It is necessary to control set and setting... The total environment in which the drug is taken is the setting. 1974 M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. xviii. 341 Among the variables that modify the marijuana response are dosage, route of administration, set, and setting.

    7. The manner in which a poem or form of words is set to music; a piece of music composed for a particular poem or form of words.

1871 D. G. Rossetti Lett. (1967) III. 923 Dr. Bennett..can publish his setting if he makes no alteration in the words. 1879 Husk in Grove's Dict. Music I. 84/2 Arne gave to the world those beautiful settings of the songs ‘Under the greenwood tree’ [etc.]. 1881 F. J. Crowest Phases Mus. Eng. 93 Settings for the Canticles by modern Church writers.

    8. a. Plastering. The finishing coat of plaster, the setting-coat (see 14, set n.¹ 30 a, set v.¹ 101).

1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Builder 390 The term setting is commonly used, when the third coat is made of fine stuff for papering. 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 606 With this tool all the first coats of plaster is laid on, as are also the last, or, as it is technically termed, the setting. 1873 Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 121/2 Setting may be either a second coat upon laying or rendering, or a third coat upon floating.

    b. A wash of gum or other suitable material applied to the surface of a pencil, charcoal or crayon drawing to prevent it being rubbed; a fixative.

1895 in Funk's Stand. Dict.

    9. a. A crop of fruit developed by fertilizing (see set v.¹ 98). ? Obs.

1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Cucumis, For Want of which kindly Heat, the first Setting or Crop of Fruit..drops off.

    b. A clutch (of eggs).

1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It iii. 85 A setting of Buff Orpington eggs that had not turned out well. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xiv. 140 The setting was hatched. The young quail, each no bigger than the end of his thumb, scattered like small windblown leaves.

    II. Senses related to intransitive uses of set v.¹
    10. a. The sinking of a heavenly body towards and below the horizon; the quarter or direction in which a heavenly body sets. Also, the fall of night or darkness.

a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 5508 Þan sewis furth þat souerayn ay by þa salt strandis Toward þe settynge of þe son. 1592 Hues Treat. Globes xii, You shall in like manner have the houre of the setting. 1607, 1728 [see heliacal 1]. 1699 Relat. Sir T. Morgan's Progr. France 13 The Major-General reply'd he would fall on just at the setting of the Night, and when the dusk of the Evening came on. 1823 Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 22 The sun being now near his setting. 1877 Browning Agamemnon 67 The shield-bearing people That made a leap, at setting of the Pleiads.

    b. fig.

1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 225, I haue touch'd the highest point of all my Greatnesse, And from that full Meridian of my Glory, I haste now to my Setting. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. ii. x. (1852) 156 Upon the setting of Mr. Francis Newman, there arose Mr. William Leet. 1807 Wordsw. Ode Intim. Immortality v, The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar. 1839 Longfellow Hyperion i. i, The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun.

    11. The process or fact of becoming set, hard, or stiff; coagulation.

1791 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. i. Addit. Notes xii. 24 The clay becomes as hard as before, being pressed together..by its self-attraction, called setting by the potters. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 456 An almost impenetrable crust may be produced by the quick exhalation of the moisture, and what is termed by farmers the setting of the clay. 1812 P. Nicholson Mech. Exerc. 312 (Plastering) Setting is also the quality that any kind of stuff has to harden in a short time. 1883 Hardwich's Photogr. Chem. (ed. 9) 166 If too much Alcohol be employed, the setting of the Pyroxyline will be..greatly retarded. 1969 Jams, Preserves & Homemade Sweets (Good Housekeeping Libr. Cooking) i. 10 Lemon juice..aids the setting. Ibid. 11 After the sugar has been added, the jam should be watched carefully and tested for setting without undue delay.

attrib. 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 610 The coagulating or setting power of burnt alabaster. 1878 Abney Treat. Photogr. vii. 52 The alkali decomposes the pyroxyline, rendering it..defective in setting qualities. 1963 D. Seton Essent. Mod. Cookery 150 The setting property of jam is due to the presence of pectin in the fruit. Ibid. 151 Setting-point is reached when the jam forms a flake and drops off the spoon cleanly or sharply when shaken.

    12. The flowing of a current in a particular direction; the direction of flow. Also fig.

c 1595 Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 52 The settinge of head seas in soe darke a night within soe straight and daingerous a passage. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 10 You are to..observe all..Courses of Tides, flowings and settings of Currents. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) N 2 b, The setting, or progressive motion of the current. 1835 Sir J. Ross N.-W. Passage xl. 533 It was attempted to explain this appearance, by supposing the setting of a current here from west to east. 1875 Gladstone Glean. (1879) VI. 199 That powerful setting of the current of human motive and inclination.

    III. Combinations.
    13. a. With various advs., as setting-down, setting-forth, setting-in, setting-off, setting-out, setting to: see the corresponding combinations of set v.¹

c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 6 As sais ‘þe romance of þe rose’, but settyng to of ony glose. 1439 Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 157 Atte the settyng vp of his Crafte he schal pay ijs. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. H iv, The gallaunt garnishing, and the bewtiful setting furth of it. 1606 Bacon Consid. Plant. Irel. Resuscit. (1657) 259 So that, this must rather be an Adventure, for such as are full; Then a setting up, of those, that are of low Means. 1614 Markham Pleas. Princes 52 From his [the Cock's] head to the setting on of his shoulders. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 132 ¶1 The first preparation for our Setting out was, that the Captain's Half-Pike was placed near the Coachman. 1778 N. B. Halhed Bengal Gram. Advt., Till the setting in of the dry season. c 1800 in Hoyle's Games Improv. (1814) 444 The person appointed..is to tell ten between each setting-to, till one of the two cocks has refused fighting ten times successively. 1845 Youatt Dog iii. 82 Their teeth and the setting-up of their backs will confirm this. 1859 H. H. Dixon Silk & Scarlet 216 We do not just like the setting on of his [a horse's] neck. 1894 J. E. Davis Elem. Mod. Dressmaking (1895) 46 The setting-in of the second sleeve [is] proceeded with. 1942 P. I. Smith Princ. & Processes Light-Leather Manuf. v. 161 After dyeing and fat-liquoring the next process is setting-out or striking out, which today is usually done by hand. 1942 W. S. Churchill End of Beginning (1943) 27 It was agreed that I should propose to those concerned the setting-up of a Pacific Council in London. 1953 D. Woodroffe Leather Dressing xiv. 144 Striking out forms an excellent treatment prior to the setting out process. 1959 20th Cent. Nov. 345 The setting-up of an alternative..television service. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio viii. 146 If wear is noticeably accelerated,..rather complicated ways of setting up have to be devised. 1975 Bram & Downs Manuf. Technol. vi. 168 To assist ‘setting up’, tenon blocks are provided to engage in table slots. 1979 A. B. Emary Woodworking viii. 37 The steps..are setting out, which means making certain full-size drawings—in the trade this is called making a workshop rod, compiling a list of timber required for the job, and placing the necessary marks on the timber from the information on the rod.

    b. Specific uses: setting-down, † a siege; setting-forth, † a means of advancement or bringing into celebrity; setting-off, † something that enhances the charm of a thing; setting-out, (a) a working drawing; (b) U.S. = set-out 3; setting-up U.S. dial., an all-night vigil, esp. one kept by relatives beside the body of a dead person (cf. set v.¹ 154 kk).

1601 B. Jonson Poetaster ii. ii. 217 O Iove, what a setting forth it is to a man, to haue many courtiers come to his house! 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. iv. 10 The confident Tyrant Keepes still in Dunsinane, and will indure Our setting downe befor't. 1633 Massinger Guardian ii. v, A Bed-fellow, To whose rare entertainment all these are But foils and settings off. a 1635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 48 They were rather excursions than sieges or settings down, for he staid not long in a place. 1835 C. Gilman Recoll. Southern Matron in Southern Rose 14 Nov. 41/2 This solemnity is usually styled by the negroes ‘a setting up’. 1848 Ladies' Repository VIII. 337, I think you can afford to give that to Hen and Kate as part of their ‘setting-out’. 1891 D. Denning Art Cabinet-Making 220 The setting out or working drawing may be made on paper. 1900 J. de F. Shelton Salt-Box House xxi. 169 Despite the high prices caused by the war, her [bridal] setting-out was not inferior, having its full complement of silver, china..Irish-stitch (damask), [etc.]. 1905 ‘P. Pennington’ Jrnl. 25 Dec. in Woman Rice Planter (1913) viii. 272 All the grown servants have gone to the ‘setting up’, which is one of the strongest articles of their creed..the feeling that they must not be found in their beds on this mysterious night when the King of the world was born. 1949 ‘J. Nelson’ Backwoods Teacher xv. 160 Most of them stayed a few minutes and departed, perhaps leaving one member of the family for the ‘settin'-up’.

    † c. Phr. to cost one the setting on, ? to cost one dear. Also, to cost one (dear) in the setting on.

1594 Lyly Mother Bombie ii. v, This good fellowshippe shall cost mee the setting on at our next meeting. 1615 Jackson Creed iv. ii. viii. 255 Carthages often prouocation of Rome cost it dearer in the setting on, then other Citties vanquished by the Romanes.

    d. Phr. setting-to-rights, the action of putting things in their correct places (on a shelf, etc.). Cf. set v.¹ 25 a.

1847 C. M. Yonge Scenes & Characters xxiii. 284 That wearisome operation, a complete setting-to-rights; Eleanor..extended her cares from the stores to every other household matter. 1911 K. D. Wiggin Mother Carey's Chickens xiv. 124 Dozens of shelves in odd spaces helped much in the tidy stowing away of household articles... In the midst of all this delightful and cheery setting-to-rights a letter arrived.

    14. Attributive, in many names of technical instruments and appliances, as setting-chisel, setting-dibble, setting-hammer, setting-iron, setting-knife, setting-pin, setting-screw, setting-trowel, etc.; setting-board, (a) a board used by glaziers in lead-work (see quot. 1825); (b) a board of wood or cork, usually grooved, for setting insect specimens; setting-circle, a graduated circle attached to a telescope for ascertaining the position of a star (1891 in Cent. Dict.); setting coat, a finishing coat of fine plastering (cf. 8 a); setting lotion, lotion that is applied to the hair in order to assist the process of setting; setting muzzle, a muzzle used for preventing a horse from feeding (cf. set v.¹ 26 d); setting-net, ? a set-net; setting-room N. Amer. dial. = sitting-room 1; setting-rule, a composing-rule; setting stuff, the fine plaster from which a setting coat is made; setting-up drill, a course of gymnastic exercises used to give an erect carriage, etc.; also setting-up exercise. Also setting-pole, setting-stick.

1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 638 The *setting-board is that in which the ridge of the light is marked and divided into squares, struck out with a chalk line, or drawn with a lath, which serves to guide the workmen. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. l. IV. 534 The English plan, except in the case of some large-bodied moths or hawk-moths, requires no groove in the setting-board. 1894 W. Furneaux Butterflies & Moths ix. 122 The most important requirement is the setting boards, of which several are necessary. 1976 V. Nabokov Details of Sunset 158 He would first pin the carefully killed insect in the cork-bottomed groove of the setting board.

1399 in Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 18 Magnæ *settyng chisiles.

1812 P. Nicholson Mech. Exerc. 312 *Setting Coat. 1916 E. A. Doncaster Limes & Cements xiii. 144 The setting coat..is made of the pure lime as it runs from the basin. 1927 A. H. Telling ABC of Plastering 206 The setting coat should be about one-eighth of an inch thick.

1626 T. H. tr. Caussin's Holy Court 28 To handle the scepter, with the same humility of heart..that one would do a *setting-dibble.

1688 Holme Armoury iii. ix. 382/1 Tools used by Jewellers... A *Setting Hammer.

1611 Cotgr., Fiche, a gardeners dible, or *setting yron. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 186 With what are known as masons' setting-irons stuck into the stone-work behind.

1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 638 The *setting-knife [used by glaziers in lead-work] consists of a blade with a round point, loaded with lead at the bottom and terminating in a long square handle.

1926 Hairdressing 27 Aug. 181/1 No *setting lotion nor dressing of any kind was used. 1941 N. Marsh Death & Dancing Footman (1942) ii. 42 She was met by the..familiar smells of hot hair, setting lotion, and the sachets used in permanent waving. 1977 J. Wilson Making Hate xiii. 157 That thick sweetish smell you always get in ladies' hair⁓dressers..setting lotion or hairspray.

1835 H. Harewood Dict. Sports s.v. Muzzle, There are two descriptions of muzzles: 1. the dressing muzzle..2. the *setting muzzle. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §1127. 319 A setting muzzle prevents it [sc. wind-sucking in horses] usually.

? c 1690 Bagford Ball. (1877) 757 This Honourable Covey met, Hodge draws the Members *Setting-Net, And gets from all, without regret, Subscriptions.

1789 W. H. Marshall Glocester I. 144 The *setting pin resembles the gardener's dibble.

1741 Probate Rec. New Hampshire (1915) III. 30, I give to my Beloved Wife..ye furniture of ye Chamber over our *Setting room. 1832 W. D. Williamson Hist. Maine II. xxviii. 703 Our indigenous cherry, black-birch, and curl maple,..were shoved from the parlour and setting-room, to admit articles of foreign mahogany. 1908 J. C. Lincoln Cy Whittaker's Place iii. 38 It's your dad's house come back alive, it is so! Look at this settin' room.

1770 Luckombe Hist. Printing 376 Having made and secured our measure, we look for a *setting Rule. 1867 Chamb. Encycl. IX. 608/2 A thin slip of brass called a setting-rule, which he places in the composing-stick when he begins.

1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxii. 329 The Use of this *Setting-Screw is, to increase or diminish the Proportion of seed to be turned out by the Notches.

1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 785/1 *Setting stuff should not be applied until the floating is quite firm and nearly dry, but it must not be too dry or the moisture will be drawn from the setting stuff. 1927 A. H. Telling ABC of Plastering 187 Setting or fine stuff consists of one part of plasterer's putty to two or three parts of sand. 1939 W. Verrall Solid & Fibrous Plastering v. 64 Setting or skimming stuff can be applied in its raw state or an addition of 10 to 15 per cent. of plaster of Paris added.

1693 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 249 A *Setting Trowell, being less than the Laying Trowell, with which they finish the Plastering when it is almost dry.

1862 Maclaren Milit. Syst. Gymnastic Exerc. 26 The *setting up and position drill of recruits.

1935 O. Nash Primrose Path 37 A few *setting-up exercises. 1970 Soviet Weekly 25 Apr. 2 He gets up at half past five, does a few setting-up exercises, takes a bath, has breakfast, goes for a walk before starting work.

▪ III. setting, vbl. n.²
    see set v.²
▪ IV. setting, ppl. a.
    (ˈsɛtɪŋ)
    [f. set v.¹ + -ing².]
    That sets, in various senses of the verb.
    1. Becoming, suitable, graceful. Obs. exc. Sc. Cf. sitting ppl. a. 2.

1535 Goodly Primer Admon. to Rdr. (1537), It is not mete, comely, nor settynge, that [etc.]. 1768 Ross Helenore (1789) 50 Says she, that lad was a' her care, That was so setting with his yellow hair. Ibid. 94 The ither too was a right setting lass, Though forthersome.

    2. Of a dog: That sets or indicates game. See also setting-dog.

1551 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 71 To my brother Rayff Thompsone my setting spanyell doge, with all netts and geyr pertenyng to it. 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2275/4 Lost.., a large Setting-Bitch about 4 years old.

    3. Of a hen: Sitting. Now dial.

1829 A. M. Hall Sk. Ir. Char. II. 29 Mr. Billy..sent her a setting hen and seven eggs. 1879 Howells L. Aroostook (1883) II. 14 A ship's time is worth no more than a setting hen's.

    4. Sinking below or nearing the horizon; said of the sun or other heavenly body, its light, etc.

1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 12 The setting Sun. 1697 Dryden æneid viii. 79 When the setting Stars are lost in Day. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 194 His shadow lengthen'd by the setting sun. 1798 Wordsw. Tintern Abbey 97 Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles ii. xix, A flush like evening's setting flame Glow'd on his cheek. 1882 Sir W. W. Hunter in Skrine Life (1901) 314 By the light of a setting half-moon.

    b. fig.

1595 Daniel Civ. Wars ii. i, All turn'd their faces to the rising sunne And leaues his setting-fortune night begun. a 1639 Wotton Parall. Essex & Buckhm. Reliq. W. (1651) 11 First, he was to wrastle with a Queens declyning, or rather with her very setting Age (as we may term it). 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriot. v. 26 We whose generations are ordained in this setting part of time. 1829 Scott Anne of G. i, That important period, when chivalry still shone with a setting ray, soon about to be totally obscured.

    † c. transf. Western. Obs.

1612 Drayton Poly-olb. v. 248 The Flemings were inforc't to take them to their Ores, To try the Setting Maine to find out firmer shores. 1622 Ibid. xxix. 22 Yorkshire which doth lye vpon my Setting side. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. vii. 305 Magnifying the condition of..the Easterne Countries, above the setting and occidentall Climates.

    d. setting-sun: an edible bivalve mollusc, Psammobia vespertina.

1867 Lovell Edible Mollusks 150.

    5. a. Of fruit: Beginning to develop from the flower. b. Of jam, etc.: coagulating; in the process of becoming hard or stiff.

1891 Macm. Mag. Apr. 438 The setting plums or apples. 1969 Jams, Preserves & Homemade Sweets (Good Housekeeping Libr. Cooking) ii. 38 Poor setting fruits can be combined with the better ones to give added colour or flavour. 1974 M. Lindlaw Super Sweets & Puddings 53 Make up the Dream Topping..or whisk the cream until it begins to thicken. Whisk into the setting jelly.

    6. With adverbs, down, in, up, etc. (see the vb.).

1805 Forsyth Beauties Scot. II. 413 Here the sea has formed caverns, which are rendered dreadful by a setting-in tide. 1874 Hislop's Bk. Scot. Anecd. 514 ‘Did ye ever hear a cuddie bray, Hawkie’, said a youth to him one day... ‘Never till the noo,’ was the setting-down and quick answer. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 51 Type Founding... Setting-up Boy.

Oxford English Dictionary