Fromon- +set. CompareOld Englishonsettan(“to impose; oppress, bear down”). For semantic parallels for the meaningto assault, compare cognateRussianнасе́сть pf(naséstʹ),наседа́ть impf(nasedátʹ).
onset (pluralonsets)
- (medicine) The initial phase of a disease or condition, in whichsymptoms first become apparent.
theonset of schizophrenia
2018 June 25, James Roland, “What is Hypergonadism?”, inHealthline[1]:In mild cases of hypergonadism prior to puberty, theonset of physical and mood changes may not be abnormally early or significant enough to cause any psychological or long-term physical complications.
2022 December 28, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Adrian Shooter CBE: rail industry mourns "a great man"”, inRAIL, number973, page 6:Widely credited as an early pioneer of the modern railway, Shooter died peacefully of his own choosing in Switzerland on December 13, having bravely lived with theonset of motor neurone disease in the final years of his life.
- (phonology) Theinitial portion of asyllable, preceding the syllablenucleus.
- Hypernym:anlaut
- Holonym:syllable
- Coordinate terms:nucleus,coda,rhyme
- (acoustics) The beginning of a musicalnote or other sound, in which theamplitude rises from zero to an initialpeak.
- A setting about; abeginning.
- Synonyms:start,beginning;see alsoThesaurus:beginning
theonset of puberty
1625,Francis [Bacon], “Of Delays”, inThe Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret,→OCLC:There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings andonsets of things.
2013 June 29, “High and wet”, inThe Economist, volume407, number8842, page28:Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intenseonset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
- (obsolete) Anything added, such as an ornament or as a useful appendage.
c.1588–1593 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene i]:And will with deeds requite thy gentleness:
And, for anonset, Titus, to advance
Thy name and honourable family,
Lavinia will I make my empress.
- (archaic) Anattack; anassault especially of an army.
- Synonym:storming
c.1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act II, scene i]:Heralds, from off our towers, we might behold
From first to last, theonset and retire
Of both your armies
1950, C. S. Lewis,The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:And Peter's tired army cheered, and the newcomers roared, and the enemy squealed and gibbered till the wood re-echoed with the din of thatonset.
(archaic) attack, assault
(medicine) initial phase of a disease or condition
(phonology) initial portion of a syllable
(acoustics) beginning of a musical note
onset (third-person singular simple presentonsets,present participleonsetting,simple past and past participleonset)
- (obsolete) Toassault; to set upon.
- (obsolete) Toset about; tobegin.
- 'onest,ETNOs,Eston,SONET,Stone,notes,onest,set on,seton,steno,steno-,stone,tones
- IPA(key): /onˈset/
- Rhymes:-et
- Syllabification:on‧set
onset m (pluralonsetz)
- bear cub,bearlet
