GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 2 definitions
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Settle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Settled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Settling (?).] [OE. setlen, AS. setlan. √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.
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And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him, until he was ashamed. 2 Kings viii. 11. (Rev. Ver.)
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The father thought the time drew on
Of setting in the world his only son. Dryden.
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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.]
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3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
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God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake. Chapman.
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Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. Bunyan.
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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”.
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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”.
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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”.
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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”.
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It will settle the wavering, and confirm the doubtful. Swift.
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8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, “to settle a quarrel”.
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9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, “to settle an account”.
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10. Hence, to pay; as, “to settle a bill”. [Colloq.] Abbott.
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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.”
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To settle on or To settle upon, (a) to confer upon by permanent grant; to assure to. “I . . . have settled upon him a good annuity.” Addison. (b) to choose; to decide on; -- sometimes with the implication that the choice is not ideal, but the best available. -- To settle the land (Naut.), to cause it to sink, or appear lower, by receding from it.
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Syn. -- To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust; determine; decide.
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Settling (?), n.
1. The act of one who, or that which, settles; the act of establishing one's self, of colonizing, subsiding, adjusting, etc.
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2. pl. That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs; sediment. Milton.
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Settling day, a day for settling accounts, as in the stock market.
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