SET

9 definitions found across Law Mind sources

SETAuthored
The Law Mind • 1194 words
Definition
SET has two primary legal meanings, one nominal and one functional. 1. (n.) A lease, particularly of mines or mining rights. In this sense, "set" operates as a near-synonym for lease, applied most commonly in British and early American mining law. A landlord who grants mining rights to a tenant is said to "set" the mine; the resulting instrument is a "mining set." 2. (n.) A complete collection of instruments forming a single transaction. Most commonly encountered in the phrase "set of exchange" — the multiple copies of a bill of exchange drawn in duplicate or triplicate, each constituting part of the same negotiable instrument, with payment on any one copy discharging the whole. The full set considered together constitutes the instrument. 3. (v., in combination) "Set" appears frequently as a component of compound legal phrases. The most significant: SET ASIDE: To cancel, annul, vacate, or revoke a judgment, decree, award, order, or other legal proceeding — typically at the instance of a party who was unjustly or irregularly affected. Setting aside is distinct from appeal; it operates to nullify rather than modify. SET OFF (or SETOFF): A defendant's assertion of a claim against the plaintiff as a means of reducing or extinguishing the plaintiff's recovery. Treated separately as its own entry. ---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): An ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction. [Note: Wiktionary's primary entry reflects mythological usage.] Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): To cause to sit; to make to assume a specified position or attitude; to give site or place to; to place; to put; to fix. The ordinary English meaning — physical placement or positioning — bears almost no relationship to the legal nominal uses of SET. A researcher encountering "mining set" or "set of exchange" in historical documents without this context will not find useful guidance in a general dictionary. The legal meanings are terms of art drawn from trade and property usage, not from the physical sense of the word. ---
Common Confusion
SET (lease/mining) vs. LEASE: The sources consistently describe "set" as "nearly synonymous with" lease in the mining context, but the terms are not interchangeable in all jurisdictions or periods. "Set" carries the specific connotation of a mining grant and may imply particular customary terms not present in a standard lease. SET ASIDE vs. APPEAL vs. VACATE: These terms are often used loosely in older opinions. Setting aside typically refers to nullification on procedural or equitable grounds at the trial level; appeal involves review by a higher court; vacate is often used synonymously with set aside but may carry distinct procedural implications depending on the court and era. Researchers should not assume these terms are equivalent when reading historical sources. ---
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES Mining Set: A lease of mining rights, particularly surface or subsurface mineral extraction. Found most frequently in English and early American cases involving collieries, quarries, and similar operations. Set of Exchange: The full collection of duplicate bills of exchange drawn as part of a single transaction. Payment or acceptance of one part discharges the obligation on all parts. Set Aside: See Definition section above. Appears in motions practice and equity proceedings. Set Off / Setoff: A defendant's counterclaim or deduction asserted against the plaintiff's demand. Treated as a separate entry. ---
Why It Matters in Research
The word "set" is a navigational hazard in historical legal sources precisely because it is so ordinary-looking. A researcher scanning old mining conveyances, equity decrees, or commercial paper cases may encounter "set" performing entirely different legal work in different contexts — a lease in one paragraph, a procedural nullification in the next, a collection of instruments in a third. For mining law research, the "mining set" formulation is predominantly a British usage that migrated into early American property and natural resources law. It appears in English Chancery sources and was carried into American treatises and early state decisions, but largely fell out of common American usage by the late nineteenth century. Post-1900 American sources rarely use "set" as a standalone synonym for a mining lease. For commercial paper research, "set of exchange" appears in sources on bills of exchange and international trade from the colonial period through the late nineteenth century. The practice of drawing bills in sets was a commercial necessity before reliable communication; it declined as telegraph and modern banking practices reduced the need for duplicate originals. Researchers working in pre-Civil War commercial law sources should be alert to this usage. For procedural research, "set aside" is a durable phrase still in active use, but its procedural mechanics — who may move, on what grounds, within what time — vary significantly by jurisdiction, court, and era. Historical sources may use the phrase to describe what modern practice would call a motion to vacate, a motion for new trial, or a collateral attack, depending on context. Researchers tracing setoff doctrine in contract assignment contexts should consult contracts_103, which addresses the rights an assignee takes subject to the obligor's pre-existing defenses, including setoff claims. ---
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries converge on the mining/lease meaning and the "set of exchange" meaning without significant disagreement. Black's (both editions) and Rapalje & Lawrence treat "set" as nearly synonymous with "lease" in the mining context, citing Brown (likely Brown's Law Dictionary or a treatise of that name). Anderson's Dictionary of Law is the most systematic, distinguishing the nominal use (set of exchange, mining set) from the verbal use in compound phrases, and noting judicial interpretation of "set aside" as annulment or vacation. Burrill's Law Dictionary presents what appears to be a corrupt or misattributed entry — the text reproduced discusses servants and masters under Blackstone, which has no apparent connection to "set" as a legal term. This is likely a scanning or digitization artifact. Researchers relying on Burrill's for this entry should treat it with caution. None of the historical dictionaries address "set aside" as a standalone entry with the depth it deserves given its procedural importance. Black's 2nd edition includes a brief treatment with case citations, but the mechanics of the motion and its relationship to other forms of post-judgment relief are left to treatise sources. ---
Jurisdictional Note
The "mining set" terminology is primarily British and appears in English equity sources and early American states with active mining industries (Pennsylvania, Virginia, and later western states). Modern American mining law uses "lease" or "license" almost exclusively. The set of exchange formulation follows general commercial paper law and was broadly uniform across American jurisdictions following the adoption of the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law and later the Uniform Commercial Code. ---
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Contracts & Commercial Law Encyclopedia, contracts_103: Assignment of Rights — Rights of Assignee Against Obligor (Defenses, Set-Offs) ---
Related Terms
Setoff (see separate entry) Lease Mining Lease Bill of Exchange Set of Exchange Vacate Set Aside Annul Counterclaim Recoupment
SETmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
This word appears to be nearly synonymous with "lease." A lease of mines is frequently termed a "mining set." Brown.
SETmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
‘:nis word appears to be nearly synonymous with “lease.” A lease of mines is frequently termed a “mining set.” Brown. _ SET ASIDE. To set aside a judgment, decree, award, or any proceedings is to cancel, annul, or revoke them at the instance of a party unjustly or irregularly affected by them. State v. Primm, 61 Mo. 171; Brandt v. Brandt, 40 Or. 477, 67 Pac. 508.
SETmain
Rapalje & Lawrence • 1883
This word appears to be nearly synonymous with "lease." A lease of mines is frequently termed a "mining set."-Brown. SET, (in a covenant in a lease). 12 Ves. 395. (as applied to a bill of exchange, defined). 1 Bouv. Inst. 461.
SETv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To cause to sit; to make to assume a specified position or attitude; to give site or place to; to place; to put; to fix; as, to set a house on a stone foundation; to set a book on a shelf; to set a dish on a table; to set a chest or trunk on its bottom or on end. I do set my bow in the cloud. Gen. ix. 13. Hence, to attach or affix (something) to something else, or in or upon a certain place. Set your affection on things above. Col. iii. 2. The Lord set a mark upon Cain. Gen. iv. 15. To make to assume specified place, condition, or occupation; to put in a certain condition or state (described by the accompanying words); to cause to be. The Lord thy God will set thee on hihg. Deut. xxviii. 1. I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother. Matt. x. 35. Every incident sets him thinking. Coleridge. To fix firmly; to make fast, permanent, or stable; to render motionless; to give an unchanging place, form, or condition to. Specifically: -- To cause to stop or stick; to obstruct; to fsten to a spot; hence, to occasion difficulty to; to embarrass; as, to set a coach in the mud. They show how hard they are set in this particular. Addison. To fix beforehand; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid; as, to set one's countenance. His eyes were set by reason of his age. 1 Kings xiv. 4. On these three objects his heart was set. Macaulay. Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint. Tennyson. To fix in the ground, as a post or a tree; to plant; as, to set pear trees in an orchard. To fix, as a precious stone, in a border of metal; to place in a setting; hence, to place in or amid something which serves as a setting; as, to set glass in a sash. And him too rich a jewel to be set In vulgar metal for a vulgar use. Dryden. To render stiff or solid; especially, to convert into curd; to curdle; as, to set milk for cheese. To put into a desired position or condition; to adjust; to regulate; to adapt. Specifically: -- To put in order in a particular manner; to prepare; as, to set (that is, to hone) a razor; to set a saw. Tables for to sette, and beddes make. Chaucer. To extend and bring into position; to spread; as, to set the sails of a ship. To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote; as, to set a psalm. Fielding. To reduce from a dislocated or fractured state; to replace; as, to set a broken bone. To make to agree with some standard; as, to set a watch or a clock. To stake at play; to wager; to risk. I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. Shak. To fit with music; to adapt, as words to notes; to prepare for singing. Set thy own songs, and sing them to thy lute. Dryden. To determine; to appoint; to assign; to fix; as, to set a time for a meeting; to set a price on a horse. To adorn with something infixed or affixed; to stud; to variegate with objects placed here and there. High on their heads, with jewels richly set, Each lady wore a radiant coronet. Dryden. Pastoral dales thin set with modern farms. Wordsworth. To value; to rate; -- with at. Be you contented, wearing now the garland, To have a son set your decrees at naught. Shak. I do not set my life at a pin's fee. Shak. To point out the seat or position of, as birds, or other game; -- said of hunting dogs. To establish as a rule; to furnish; to prescribe; to assign; as, to set an example; to set lessons to be learned. To suit; to become; as, it sets him ill. [Scot.] To compose; to arrange in words, lines, etc.; as, to set type; to set a page. To set abroach. See Abroach. [Obs.] Shak. -- To set against, to oppose; to set in comparison with, or to oppose to, as an equivalent in exchange; as, to set one thing against another. -- To set agoing, to cause to move. -- To set apart, to separate to a particular use; to separate from the rest; to reserve. -- To set a saw, to bend each tooth a little, every alternate one being bent to one side, and the intermediate ones to the other side, so that the opening made by the saw may be a little wider than the thickness of the back, to prevent the saw from sticking. -- To set aside. (a) To leave out of account; to pass by; to omit; to neglect; to reject; to annul. Setting aside all other considerations, I will endeavor to know the truth, and yield to that. Tillotson. To set apart; to reserve; as, to set aside part of one's income. To fix; to establish; to ordain. This law we may name eternal, being that order which God . . . hath set down with himself, for himself to do all things by. Hooker. To humiliate. -- To set eyes on, to see; to behold; to fasten the eyes on. -- To set fire to, or To set on fire, to communicate fire to; fig., to inflame; to enkindle the passions of; to irritate. -- To set flying (Naut.), to hook to halyards, sheets, etc., instead of extending with rings or the like on a stay; -- said of a sail. -- To set forth. (a) To manifest; to offer or present to view; to exhibt; to display. (b) To publish; to promulgate; to make appear. Waller. (c) To send out; to prepare and send. [Obs.] The Venetian admiral had a fleet of sixty galleys, set forth by the Venetians. Knolles. -- To set forward. (a) To cause to advance. (b) To promote. -- To set free, to release from confinement, imprisonment, or bondage; to liberate; to emancipate. -- To set in, to put in the way; to begin; to give a start to. [Obs.] If you please to assist and set me in, I will recollect myself. Collier. -- To set in order, to adjust or arrange; to reduce to method. "The rest will I set in order when I come." 1 Cor. xi. 34. -- To set milk. (a) To expose it in open dishes in order that the cream may rise to the surface. (b) To cause it to become curdled as by the action of rennet. See 4 (e). -- To set much, or little, by, to care much, or little, for. -- To set of, to value; to set by. [Obs.] "I set not an haw of his proverbs." Chaucer. -- To set off. (a) To separate from a whole; to assign to a particular purpose; to portion off; as, to set off a portion of an estate. (b) To adorn; to decorate; to embellish. They . . . set off the worst faces with the best airs. Addison. To give a flattering description of. -- To set off against, to place against as an equivalent; as, to set off one man's services against another's. -- To set on or upon. (a) To incite; to instigate. "Thou, traitor, hast set on thy wife to this." Shak. (b) To employ, as in a task. " Set on thy wife to observe." Shak. (c) To fix upon; to attach strongly to; as, to set one's heart or affections on some object. See definition 2, above. -- To set one's cap for. See under Cap, n. -- To set one's self against, to place one's self in a state of enmity or opposition to. -- To set one's teeth, to press them together tightly. -- To set on foot, to set going; to put in motion; to start. -- To set out. (a) To assign; to allot; to mark off; to limit; as, to set out the share of each proprietor or heir of an estate; to set out the widow's thirds. (b) To publish, as a proclamation. [Obs.] (c) To adorn; to embellish. An ugly woman, in rich habit set out with jewels, nothing can become. Dryden. To raise, equip, and send forth; to furnish. [R.] The Venetians pretend they could set out, in case of great necessity, thirty men-of-war. Addison. To show; to display; to recommend; to set off. I could set out that best side of Luther. Atterbury. To show; to prove. [R.] "Those very reasons set out how heinous his sin was." Atterbury. (g) (Law) To recite; to state at large. -- To set over. (a) To appoint or constitute as supervisor, inspector, ruler, or commander. (b) To assign; to transfer; to convey. -- To set right, to correct; to put in order. -- To set sail. (Naut.) See under Sail, n. -- To set store by, to consider valuable. -- To set the fashion, to determine what shall be the fashion; to establish the mode. -- To set the teeth on edge, to affect the teeth with a disagreeable sensation, as when acids are brought in contact with them. -- To set the watch (Naut.), to place the starboard or port watch on duty. -- To set to, to attach to; to affix to. "He . . . hath set to his seal that God is true." John iii. 33. -- To set up. (a) To erect; to raise; to elevate; as, to set up a building, or a machine; to set up a post, a wall, a pillar. (b) Hence, to exalt; to put in power. "I will . . . set up the throne of David over Israel." 2 Sam. iii. 10. (c) To begin, as a new institution; to institute; to establish; to found; as, to set up a manufactory; to set up a school. (d) To enable to commence a new business; as, to set up a son in trade. (e) To place in view; as, to set up a mark. (f) To raise; to utter loudly; as, to set up the voice. I'll set up such a note as she shall hear. Dryden. To advance; to propose as truth or for reception; as, to set up a new opinion or doctrine. T. Burnet. (h) To raise from depression, or to a sufficient fortune; as, this good fortune quite set him up. (i) To intoxicate. [Slang] (j) (Print.) To put in type; as, to set up copy; to arrange in words, lines, etc., ready for printing; as, to set up type. -- To set up the rigging (Naut.), to make it taut by means of tackles. R. H. Dana, Jr.
SETv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To pass below the horizon; to go down; to decline; to sink out of sight; to come to an end. Ere the weary sun set in the west. Shak. Thus this century sets with little mirth, and the next is likely to arise with more mourning. Fuller. To fit music to words. [Obs.] Shak. To place plants or shoots in the ground; to plant. "To sow dry, and set wet." Old Proverb. To be fixed for growth; to strike root; to begin to germinate or form; as, cuttings set well; the fruit has set well (i. e., not blasted in the blossom). To become fixed or rigid; to be fastened. A gathering and serring of the spirits together to resist, maketh the teeth to set hard one against another. Bacon. To congeal; to concrete; to solidify. That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set. Boyle. To have a certain direction in motion; to flow; to move on; to tend; as, the current sets to the north; the tide sets to the windward. To begin to move; to go out or forth; to start; -- now followed by out. The king is set from London. Shak. To indicate the position of game; -- said of a dog; as, the dog sets well; also, to hunt game by the aid of a setter. To apply one's self; to undertake earnestly; -- now followed by out. If he sets industriously and sincerely to perform the commands of Christ, he can have no ground of doubting but it shall prove successful to him. Hammond. To fit or suit one; to sit; as, the coat sets well. To assault; to make an attack. Bacon. Cassio hath here been set on in the dark. Shak. -- To set out, to begin a journey or course; as, to set out for London, or from London; to set out in business;to set out in life or the world. -- To set to, to apply one's self to. -- To set up. (a) To begin business or a scheme of life; as, to set up in trade; to set up for one's self. (b) To profess openly; to make pretensions. Those men who set up for mortality without regard to religion, are generally but virtuous in part. Swift.
SETa.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
Fixed in position; immovable; rigid; as, a set line; a set countenance. Firm; unchanging; obstinate; as, set opinions or prejudices. Regular; uniform; formal; as, a set discourse; a set battle. "The set phrase of peace." Shak. Established; prescribed; as, set forms of prayer. Adjusted; arranged; formed; adapted. Set hammer. (a) A hammer the head of which is not tightly fastened upon the handle, but may be reversed. Knight. (b) A hammer with a concave face which forms a die for shaping anything, as the end of a bolt, rivet, etc. -- Set line, a line to which a number of baited hooks are attached, and which, supported by floats and properly secured, may be left unguarded during the absence of the fisherman. -- Set nut, a jam nut or lock nut. See under Nut. -- Set screw (Mach.), a screw, sometimes cupped or printed at one end, and screwed through one part, as of a machine, tightly upon another part, to prevent the one from slipping upon the other. -- Set speech, a speech carefully prepared before it is delivered in public; a formal or methodical speech.
Setname
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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An ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction.
setnoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
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A punch for setting nails in wood. | A device for receiving broadcast radio waves (or, more recently, broadcast data); a radio or television. | Alternative form of sett (“a hole made and lived in by a badger”). | Alternative form of sett (“pattern of threads and yarns”). | Alternative form of sett (“piece of quarried stone”). | A small tuber or bulb used instead of seed, particularly onion sets and potato sets. | The amount by which the teeth of a saw protrude to the side in order to create the kerf. | A permanent change of shape caused by excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc. | A bias of mind; an attitude or pattern of behaviour. | A piece placed temporarily upon the head of a pile when the latter cannot otherwise be reached by the weight, or hammer. | The width of the body of a type. | A young oyster when first attached. | Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any locality. | A series or group of something. (Note the similar meaning in Etymology 4, Noun) | The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit. | The pattern of a tartan, etc. | The camber of a curved roofing tile. | The full number of eggs set under a hen. | That which is staked; a wager; hence, a gambling game. | A tool for dressing forged iron.

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