Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

set one's cap at

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English

Syllables: set one's -cap at
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To choose a man as a potential husband (for a girl).

verb

To choose something as a goal.

Example Sentences

"To hear her rant, one would have supposed, who had not seen him, that her lank-haired, grimly partner, was the prettiest youth in the county of Dublin, and that all the comely lasses in Chapelizod and the country round were sighing and setting caps at him […]"
"Patrick O'Brian, "HMS Surprise". How he has escaped marriage until now I cannot tell: the number of caps set in his direction would furnish a warehouse."

Etymology

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

Inflected Forms

sets one's cap at (present, singular) setting one's cap at (participle, present) set one's cap for (alternative)

Questions

What does set one's cap at mean?: To choose a man as a potential husband (for a girl).
Where does set one's cap at come from?: Probably a calque of French mettre le cap sur (“to set a course for”).

How to pronounce set one's cap at

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