Etymology

setter

set·ter
S1E1T1T1E1R1

Today it means: A typesetter. Full definition →

Middle English settere ← Old English settan ← Proto-West Germanic *sattjan
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sodéyeti
  3. Proto-Germanic*satjaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*sattjan
  5. Old Englishsettan
  6. Middle Englishsetten
  7. Middle Englishsettere
  8. English todaysetter

From Middle English settere, equivalent to set + -er. Compare West Frisian setter, Dutch zetter, German Low German Setter, German Setzer. The hunting dogs are so named because when they scent the game, they set (that is, strike a certain stance).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.