| settle | 1. To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; especially, 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. 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. 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." . To settle the land, to cause it to sink, or appear lower, by receding from it. Synonym: To fix, establish, regulate, arrange, compose, adjust, determine, decide. Origin: OE. Setlen, AS. Setlan. See Settle, In senses 7, 8, and 9 perhaps confused with OE. Sahtlen to reconcile, AS. Sahtlian, fr. Saht reconciliation, sacon to contend, dispute. Cf. Sake. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| settlement | 1. The act of setting, or the state of being settled. Specifically: Establishment in life, in business, condition, etc.; ordination or installation as pastor. "Every man living has a design in his head upon wealth power, or settlement in the world." (L'Estrange) The act of peopling, or state of being peopled; act of planting, as a colony; colonization; occupation by settlers; as, the settlement of a new country. The act or process of adjusting or determining; composure of doubts or differences; pacification; liquidation of accounts; arrangement; adjustment; as, settlement of a controversy, of accounts, etc. Bestowal, or giving possession, under legal sanction; the act of giving or conferring anything in a formal and permanent manner. "My flocks, my fields, my woods, my pastures take, With settlement as good as law can make." (Dryden) A disposition of property for the benefit of some person or persons, usually through the medium of trustees, and for the benefit of a wife, children, or other relatives; jointure granted to a wife, or the act of granting it. 2. That which settles, or is settled, established, or fixed. Specifically: Matter that subsides; settlings; sediment; lees; dregs. "Fuller's earth left a thick settlement." (Mortimer) A colony newly established; a place or region newly settled; as, settlement in the West. That which is bestowed formally and permanently; the sum secured to a person; especially, a jointure made to a woman at her marriage; also, in the United States, a sum of money or other property formerly granted to a pastor in additional to his salary. 3. The gradual sinking of a building, whether by the yielding of the ground under the foundation, or by the compression of the joints or the material. Pl. Fractures or dislocations caused by settlement. 4. A settled place of abode; residence; a right growing out of residence; legal residence or establishment of a person in a particular parish or town, which entitles him to maintenance if a pauper, and subjects the parish or town to his support. Act of settlement, the statute of 12 and 13 William III, by which the crown was limited to the present reigning house (the house of Hanover). Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| settler | 1. One who settles, becomes fixed, established, etc. 2. Especially, one who establishes himself in a new region or a colony; a colonist; a planter; as, the first settlers of New England. 3. That which settles or finishes; hence, a blow, etc, which settles or decides a contest. 4. A vessel, as a tub, in which something, as pulverized ore suspended in a liquid, is allowed to settle. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |