Etymology

set one's cap at

Today it means: To choose a man as a potential husband (for a girl). Full definition →

French mettre le cap sur
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The story

  1. French · calque ofmettre le cap sur“to set a course for”
  2. English todayset one's cap at

Probably a calque of French mettre le cap sur (“to set a course for”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.