Setting

How to spell setting

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce setting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does setting mean?

1. nounThe place, time, or surroundings in which something happens or is situated.
2. nounA chosen position or level at which a device or control is adjusted.
3. nounThe metal framework that holds a gemstone in place on a piece of jewellery.
4. nounThe arrangement of cutlery, plates, and glasses laid out for one person at a meal.

Setting in a sentence

• The cottage stood in a peaceful rural setting beside the river.

• He changed the oven to a lower setting to slow the roasting.

• The diamond came loose from its gold setting during the trip.

• Each setting included two forks and a folded napkin.

• The novel uses a wartime setting to frame its characters.

• The camera works best on the automatic setting in dim light.

Where does setting come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the verb 'set', which comes from the Old English settan, meaning 'to cause to sit' or 'to place'. That verb was the causative partner of sittan 'to sit', so historically to set something was literally to make it sit in position, an idea that survives in modern uses like setting a cup on a table. The noun 'setting' formed by adding the suffix -ing, which turns a verb into a word for the action or its result, and it is recorded from the medieval period onward. Over time it gathered many practical senses: the position in which a dial is fixed, the mounting that holds a jewel in place, the surroundings in which events occur, and the laying out of a table. The doubled t in the spelling reflects the short, stressed vowel of 'set', a regular English pattern where a single short vowel before -ing doubles the final consonant.

How the word is built

• set (to place or fix)
• -ing (noun/gerund suffix)