English
setter
Setter comes from Middle English setten ‘to put, lay, set, place’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sodéyeti‘to set, to seat, to cause to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*satjaną‘to set, to place down’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sattjan‘to set, place’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150settan‘to set, establish, place, make’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500setten‘to put, lay, set, place’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500settere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597setter
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sodéyeti‘to set, to seat, to cause to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*satjaną‘to set, to place down’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sattjan‘to set, place’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150settan‘to set, establish, place, make’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500setten‘to put, lay, set, place’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500settere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597setter
Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “O, 'tis our setter. I know his voice”.
Formed from set + -er
Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
…
Proto-Germanic *satjaną ‘to set’
Proto-West Germanic *sattjan ‘to set’
Old English settan ‘to set’
Middle English setten ‘to seat’
English set
The story
The hunting dogs are so named because when they scent the game, they set (that is, strike a certain stance).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
president, size, sit, chair, sell, sitting, method, seat, session, resident, nest, siege, niche, assess, possess, saddle, exodus, reside, settle, subsidy, residue, residual, nye, sedan, insidious, sediment, dissident, prasad, cathode, soot, sedentary, anode, sedative, obsess, presidio, beset, presidium, chaise, salo, séance, 94 more
through Proto-West Germanic *sattjan ‘to set, place’
through Middle English setten ‘to put, lay, set, place’
Today it means
noun A typesetter.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / setter