Setts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of stone used for paving or as a building material, particularly in streets or walkways
2. The plural of a specific block of stone shaped for use in road construction or landscaping
3. Referring to cobblestones or similar stones often employed in historical or decorative settings

Etymology: "Setts" is the plural of "sett", a noun for a squared block of stone, often granite, used to pave roads and courtyards or to edge garden paths. The word is a variant spelling of "set", the everyday English verb and noun, which has been split into many senses over the centuries. Dictionaries record "sett" as a separate spelling reserved for these specialised technical uses, so the stone block and the ordinary word "set" share a single origin while having gone their separate ways in spelling. The distinction matters in practice. Where "set" in its general sense means to place, arrange or fix something in position, "sett" names the particular object that gets laid in those rows. A road made from them is sometimes called a setted road, and a paved surface of this kind is described in the same plain terms, with the plural "setts" referring to the stones collectively.

Synonyms: burrows