Set \Set\, n.
1. The act of setting, as of the sun or other heavenly body;
descent; hence, the close; termination. "Locking at the
set of day." --Tennyson.
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The weary sun hath made a golden set. --Shak.
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2. That which is set, placed, or fixed. Specifically:
(a) A young plant for growth; as, a set of white thorn.
(b) That which is staked; a wager; a venture; a stake;
hence, a game at venture. [Obs. or R.]
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We will in France, by God's grace, play a set
Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.
--Shak.
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That was but civil war, an equal set. --Dryden.
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(c) (Mech.) Permanent change of figure in consequence of
excessive strain, as from compression, tension,
bending, twisting, etc.; as, the set of a spring.
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(d) A kind of punch used for bending, indenting, or giving
shape to, metal; as, a saw set.
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(e) (Pile Driving) A piece placed temporarily upon the
head of a pile when the latter cannot be reached by
the weight, or hammer, except by means of such an
intervening piece. [Often incorrectly written sett.]
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(f) (Carp.) A short steel spike used for driving the head
of a nail below the surface. Called also nail set.
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3. [Perhaps due to confusion with sect, sept.] A number of
things of the same kind, ordinarily used or classed
together; a collection of articles which naturally
complement each other, and usually go together; an
assortment; a suit; as, a set of chairs, of china, of
surgical or mathematical instruments, of books, etc. [In
this sense, sometimes incorrectly written sett.]
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4. A number of persons associated by custom, office, common
opinion, quality, or the like; a division; a group; a
clique. "Others of our set." --Tennyson.
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This falls into different divisions, or sets, of
nations connected under particular religions. --R.
P. Ward.
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5. Direction or course; as, the set of the wind, or of a
current.
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6. In dancing, the number of persons necessary to execute a
quadrille; also, the series of figures or movements
executed.
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7. The deflection of a tooth, or of the teeth, of a saw,
which causes the the saw to cut a kerf, or make an
opening, wider than the blade.
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8.
(a) A young oyster when first attached.
(b) Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any
locality.
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9. (Tennis) A series of as many games as may be necessary to
enable one side to win six. If at the end of the tenth
game the score is a tie, the set is usually called a deuce
set, and decided by an application of the rules for
playing off deuce in a game. See Deuce.
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10. (Type Founding) That dimension of the body of a type
called by printers the width.
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11. (Textiles) Any of various standards of measurement of the
fineness of cloth; specif., the number of reeds in one
inch and the number of threads in each reed. The exact
meaning varies according to the location where it is
used. Sometimes written sett.
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12. A stone, commonly of granite, shaped like a short brick
and usually somewhat larger than one, used for street
paving. Commonly written sett.
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13. Camber of a curved roofing tile.
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14. The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit;
as, the set of a coat. [Colloq.]
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15. Any collection or group of objects considered together.
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Dead set.
(a) The act of a setter dog when it discovers the game,
and remains intently fixed in pointing it out.
(b) A fixed or stationary condition arising from obstacle
or hindrance; a deadlock; as, to be at a dead set.
(c) A concerted scheme to defraud by gaming; a determined
onset.
To make a dead set, to make a determined onset, literally
or figuratively.
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Syn: Collection; series; group. See Pair.
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Dead \Dead\ (d[e^]d), a. [OE. ded, dead, deed, AS. de['a]d; akin
to OS. d[=o]d, D. dood, G. todt, tot, Icel. dau[eth]r, Sw. &
Dan. d["o]d, Goth. daubs; prop. p. p. of an old verb meaning
to die. See Die, and cf. Death.]
1. Deprived of life; -- opposed to alive and living;
reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of
motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their
functions; as, a dead tree; a dead man. "The queen, my
lord, is dead." --Shak.
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The crew, all except himself, were dead of hunger.
--Arbuthnot.
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Seek him with candle, bring him dead or living.
--Shak.
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2. Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.
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3. Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of
life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.
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4. Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead
calm; a dead load or weight.
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5. So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a
dead floor.
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6. Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead
capital; dead stock in trade.
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7. Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye;
dead fire; dead color, etc.
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8. Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead
wall. "The ground is a dead flat." --C. Reade.
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9. Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot;
a dead certainty.
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I had them a dead bargain. --Goldsmith.
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10. Bringing death; deadly. --Shak.
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11. Wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith;
dead works. "Dead in trespasses." --Eph. ii. 1.
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12. (Paint.)
(a) Flat; without gloss; -- said of painting which has
been applied purposely to have this effect.
(b) Not brilliant; not rich; thus, brown is a dead color,
as compared with crimson.
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13. (Law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of
the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one
banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead.
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14. (Mach.) Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead
spindle of a lathe, etc. See Spindle.
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15. (Elec.) Carrying no current, or producing no useful
effect; -- said of a conductor in a dynamo or motor, also
of a telegraph wire which has no instrument attached and,
therefore, is not in use.
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16. Out of play; regarded as out of the game; -- said of a
ball, a piece, or a player under certain conditions in
cricket, baseball, checkers, and some other games.
[In golf], a ball is said to lie dead when it lies
so near the hole that the player is certain to hole
it in the next stroke. --Encyc. of
Sport.
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Dead ahead (Naut.), directly ahead; -- said of a ship or
any object, esp. of the wind when blowing from that point
toward which a vessel would go.
Dead angle (Mil.), an angle or space which can not be seen
or defended from behind the parapet.
Dead block, either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to
serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car.
Dead calm (Naut.), no wind at all.
Dead center, or Dead point (Mach.), either of two points
in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank and connecting
rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a
stroke; as, A and B are dead centers of the crank
mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by,
the lever L.
Dead color (Paint.), a color which has no gloss upon it.
Dead coloring (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the
preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this
is usually in monochrome.
Dead door (Shipbuilding), a storm shutter fitted to the
outside of the quarter-gallery door.
Dead flat (Naut.), the widest or midship frame.
Dead freight (Mar. Law), a sum of money paid by a person
who charters a whole vessel but fails to make out a full
cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity.
--Abbott.
Dead ground (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there
is no ore.
Dead hand, a hand that can not alienate, as of a person
civilly dead. "Serfs held in dead hand." --Morley. See
Mortmain.
Dead head (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor
buoy.
Dead heat, a heat or course between two or more race
horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal,
so that neither wins.
Dead horse, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid
in advance. [Law]
Dead language, a language which is no longer spoken or in
common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as
the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
Dead plate (Mach.), a solid covering over a part of a fire
grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part.
Dead pledge, a mortgage. See Mortgage.
Dead point. (Mach.) See Dead center.
Dead reckoning (Naut.), the method of determining the place
of a ship from a record kept of the courses sailed as
given by compass, and the distance made on each course as
found by log, with allowance for leeway, etc., without the
aid of celestial observations.
Dead rise, the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's
floor.
Dead rising, an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to
determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the
ship's length.
Dead-Sea apple. See under Apple.
Dead set. See under Set.
Dead shot.
(a) An unerring marksman.
(b) A shot certain to be made.
Dead smooth, the finest cut made; -- said of files.
Dead wall (Arch.), a blank wall unbroken by windows or
other openings.
Dead water (Naut.), the eddy water closing in under a
ship's stern when sailing.
Dead weight.
(a) A heavy or oppressive burden. --Dryden.
(b) (Shipping) A ship's lading, when it consists of heavy
goods; or, the heaviest part of a ship's cargo.
(c) (Railroad) The weight of rolling stock, the live
weight being the load. --Knight.
Dead wind (Naut.), a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the
ship's course.
To be dead, to die. [Obs.]
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I deme thee, thou must algate be dead. --Chaucer.
Syn: Inanimate; deceased; extinct. See Lifeless.
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