[UNDER-1 5 b, 6 a.]
† 1. Sc. = UNDERSETTLE. Obs. rare.
1509. Reg. Privy Seal Scotl., 285/1. To be haldin and to be had to him and his assignais,… subtenentis and undersettis under thaim in all or in parte. Ibid., 288/1.
2. Mining. A lower vein of ore.
1747. Hooson, Miner’s Dict., S 2 b. These Levells are called Sets, as the first is the Top-Set, the second which is found out by Sinking through the Deadness, is called the Under-Set.
3. An undercurrent. (See first quot.)
1815. Burney, Falconer’s Marine Dict., Under-set, a motion of the water beneath the surface, produced by the wind impelling the upper part directly upon the shore of a bay, whereby the water … necessarily takes a direction contrary to the wind,… below the surface.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., 706. The resaca, or underset, is particularly dangerous on those beaches where heavy surf prevails.
