Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Settle?

\Set"tle\, n. [OE. setel, setil, a seat, AS. setl: akin to OHG. sezzal, G. sessel, Goth. sitls, and E. sit. [root]154. See {Sit}.] 1. A seat of any kind. [Obs.] ``Upon the settle of his majesty'' --Hampole. 2. A bench; especially, a bench with a high back. 3. A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part. And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle, shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit. --Ezek. xliii. 14. {Settle bed}, a bed convertible into a seat. [Eng.]
\Set"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Settled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Settling}.] [OE. setlen, AS. setlan. [root]154. See {Settle}, n. In senses 7, 8, and 9 perhaps confused with OE. sahtlen to reconcile, AS. sahtlian, fr. saht reconciliation, sacon to contend, dispute. Cf. {Sake}.] 1. To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; esp., to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, or the like. And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him, until he was ashamed. --2 Kings viii. 11. (Rev. Ver.) The father thought the time drew on Of setting in the world his only son. --Dryden. 2. To establish in the pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish; as, to settle a minister. [U. S.] 3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose. God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake. --Chapman. Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. --Bunyan. 4. To clear of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink; to render pure or clear; -- said of a liquid; as, to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee. 5. To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable condition; -- said of the ground, of roads, and the like; as, clear weather settles the roads. 6. To cause to sink; to lower; to depress; hence, also, to render close or compact; as, to settle the contents of a barrel or bag by shaking it. 7. To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to settle an allowance. It will settle the wavering, and confirm the doubtful. --Swift. 8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel. 9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to settle an account. 10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [Colloq.] --Abbott. 11. To plant with inhabitants; to colonize; to people; as, the French first settled Canada; the Puritans settled New England; Plymouth was settled in 1620. {To settle on} or {upon}, to confer upon by permanent grant; to assure to. ``I . . . have settled upon him a good annuity.'' --Addison. {To settle the land} (Naut.), to cause it to sink, or appear lower, by receding from it. Syn: To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust; determine; decide.
\Set"tle\, v. i. 1. To become fixed or permanent; to become stationary; to establish one's self or itself; to assume a lasting form, condition, direction, or the like, in place of a temporary or changing state. The wind came about and settled in the west. --Bacon. Chyle . . . runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red. --Arbuthnot. 2. To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain. 3. To enter into the married state, or the state of a householder. As people marry now and settle. --Prior. 4. To be established in an employment or profession; as, to settle in the practice of law. 5. To become firm, dry, and hard, as the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared; as, the roads settled late in the spring. 6. To become clear after being turbid or obscure; to clarify by depositing matter held in suspension; as, the weather settled; wine settles by standing. A government, on such occasions, is always thick before it settles. --Addison. 7. To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir. 8. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the foundation of a house, etc. 9. To become calm; to cease from agitation. Till the fury of his highness settle, Come not before him. --Shak. 10. To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors. 11. To make a jointure for a wife. He sighs with most success that settles well. --Garth.