The Collaborative Dictionary

Set \Set\, n.

The act of setting, as of the sun or other heavenly body; descent; hence, the close; termination. "Locking at the set of day." --Tennyson. [1913 Webster] The weary sun hath made a golden set. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

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.] [1913 Webster] We will in France, by God's grace, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard. --Shak. [1913 Webster] That was but civil war, an equal set. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] (c) (Mech.) Permanent change of figure in consequence of excessive strain, as from compression, tension, bending, twisting, etc.; as, the set of a spring. [1913 Webster] (d) A kind of punch used for bending, indenting, or giving shape to, metal; as, a saw set. [1913 Webster] (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.] [1913 Webster] (f) (Carp.) A short steel spike used for driving the head of a nail below the surface. Called also nail set. [1913 Webster +PJC]

[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.] [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster] This falls into different divisions, or sets, of nations connected under particular religions. --R. P. Ward. [1913 Webster]

Direction or course; as, the set of the wind, or of a current. [1913 Webster]

In dancing, the number of persons necessary to execute a quadrille; also, the series of figures or movements executed. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

(a) A young oyster when first attached. (b) Collectively, the crop of young oysters in any locality. [1913 Webster]

(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. [1913 Webster]

(Type Founding) That dimension of the body of a type called by printers the width. [1913 Webster]

(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. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

A stone, commonly of granite, shaped like a short brick and usually somewhat larger than one, used for street paving. Commonly written sett. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Camber of a curved roofing tile. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

The manner, state, or quality of setting or fitting; fit; as, the set of a coat. [Colloq.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Any collection or group of objects considered together. [PJC] 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. [1913 Webster] Syn: Collection; series; group. See Pair. [1913 Webster]

Width \Width\, n. [From Wide.] The quality of being wide; extent from side to side; breadth; wideness; as, the width of cloth; the width of a door. [1913 Webster]

Word Net

width n : the extent of something from side to side [syn: breadth]

Moby Thesaurus

ambit, amplitude, area, beam, bigness, body, breadth, broadness, bulk, caliber, circle, compass, coverage, depth, diameter, dimension, dimensions, distance across, expanse, expansion, extension, extent, fullness, gauge, girth, greatness, height, largeness, latitude, length, magnitude, mass, measure, measurement, orbit, panorama, proportion, proportions, radius, range, reach, scale, scope, size, span, spread, volume, wideness

English

Pronunciation

Etymology

wide & -th

Noun

The state of being wide
The measurement of the extent of something from side to side
a piece of material measured along its smaller dimension
The horizontal distance between a batsman and the ball as it passes him

Translations

Translations to be checked

Lithuanian: plotis m, platumas m

Related terms

Length is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end. This may be distinguished from height, which is vertical extent, and width or breadth, which are the distance from side to side, measuring across the object at right angles to the length. In the physical sciences and engineering, the word "length" is typically used synonymously with "distance", with symbol l or L.

Length is a measure of one dimension, whereas area is a measure of two dimensions (length squared) and volume is a measure of three dimensions (length cubed). In most systems of measurement, length is a fundamental unit, from which other units are derived.

Units of length

In the physical sciences and engineering, when one speaks of "units of length", the word "length" is synonymous with "distance". There are several units that are used to measure length. Units of length may be based on lengths of human body parts, the distance travelled in a number of paces, the distance between landmarks or places on the Earth, or arbitrarily on the length of some fixed object.

In the International System of Units (SI), the basic unit of length is the metre and is now defined in terms of the speed of light. The centimetre and the kilometre, derived from the metre, are also commonly used units. In U.S. customary units, English or Imperial system of units, commonly used units of length are the inch, the foot, the yard, and the mile.

Units used to denote distances in the vastness of space, as in astronomy, are much longer than those typically used on Earth and include the astronomical unit, the light-year, and the parsec.

Units used to denote microscopically small distances, as in chemistry, include the micron and the ångström.

Length of moving rods

In the context of "section": While the length of a resting rod can be measured by direct comparison with a measuring rod, this comparison cannot be performed while the rod is moving. In this case we define its moving length as the distance between its two endpoints at a given instance.

If the world lines of the two endpoints of the rod expressed in the coordinates of an R \, inertial reference frame are

\mathbf x_1(t) = (t,x_1(t),y_1(t),z_1(t))\,

and

\mathbf x_2(t) = (t,x_2(t),y_2(t),z_2(t))\, ,

then the length of the rod in this reference frame at the t \, instance is

l_R(t) = \sqrt.

Since in special relativity the relation of simultaneity depends on the chosen frame of reference, the length of moving rods also depends.

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