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onset

Pronunciation: /ˈɒnˌsɛt/

The English word “onset” has 8 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. The initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.
  2. The initial portion of a syllable, preceding the syllable nucleus.
  3. The beginning of a musical note or other sound, in which the amplitude rises from zero to an initial peak.
  4. A setting about; a beginning.
  5. Anything added, such as an ornament or as a useful appendage.
  6. An attack; an assault especially of an army.

verb

  1. To assault; to set upon.
  2. To set about; to begin.

Etymology

From on- + set. Compare Old English onsettan (“to impose; oppress, bear down”). For semantic parallels for the meaning to assault, compare cognate Russian насе́сть pf (naséstʹ), наседа́ть impf (nasedátʹ).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.