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settle

noun

  1. seating bench with a high back
L327544 on Wikidata ↗

verb

  1. come to an agreement
  2. establish a new place of residence
  3. come to rest, or approach a steady state
  4. decide
L6937 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛ.təl/ / [ˈsɛtəɫ] / [ˈsɛtɫ̩]

name

Etymology: From Old English setl (“sitting, residence”).

  1. A town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Craven district (OS grid ref SD816640).
  2. An unincorporated community in Allen County, Kentucky, United States.
  3. A habitational surname from Old English.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English settle, setle, setel, setil, seotel, from Old English setl (“that upon which one sits, a seat, a settle, a place to sit”), from Proto-Germanic *setlaz (“a seat; arm-chair”), representing Proto-Indo-European *sed-lo-, from *sed- (“sit”). Cognate with Dutch zetel, German Sessel, Latin sella.

  1. A seat of any kind.

    sit on a settle of joy with angels

    If hunger drive the Pagans from their dens, One, 'gainst a settle breaketh both his shins;

  2. A long bench with a high back and arms, often with chest or storage space underneath.

    Beneath its shade, the place of state, / On oaken settle Marmion sate, / And viewed around the blazing hearth.

    Let us return now to the little girl we left feigning to sleep soundly upon a settle in the kitchen.

  3. A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part. (Compare a depression.)

    And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle, shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

verb

Etymology: From a merger of two verbs: * Middle English setlen, from Old English setlan (“to settle, seat, put to rest”), from Old English setl (“seat”) (compare Dutch zetelen (“to be established, settle”)) and * Middle English sahtlen, seihtlen (“to reconcile, calm, subside”), from Old English sahtlian, ġesehtlian (“to reconcile”), from Old English saht, seht (“settlement, agreement, reconciliation, peace”) (see saught, -le). German siedeln (“to settle”) is related to the former of the two verbs, but is not an immediate cognate of either of them.

  1. To conclude or resolve (something):

    His fears were settled

    She hopes to settle any questions about the plans.

  2. To conclude or resolve (something):

    to settle a quarrel

  3. To conclude or resolve (something):
  4. To conclude or resolve (something):

    The coffee was only surface wet and looked worse than it actually was and as he returned to the Reception Desk to settle his account and give back his room key, he was met again by the young man who was still wearing his rucksack.

  5. To conclude or resolve (something):
  6. To conclude or resolve (something):

    He has settled with his creditors.

  7. To conclude or resolve (something):

    Of course, certainty is a value in all systems of conflict of laws—including those of the United States. Certainty for litigants decreases litigation and transaction costs and increases the chances that cases will settle.

  8. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

    to settle my affairs

    to settle her estate

  9. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

    The curate settled his collar, coughed, and, making an effort, knocked.

    She twisted out from under the claim of his palm to settle her feet on the floor.

  10. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

    God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake, / And Tenedos we reach'd; [...]

    [I]t drawing towards night, and they hoping that ſleep might ſettle his brains, with all haſt they got him to bed; [...]

  11. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
  12. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

    I poured a charge of powder over the nipple so as not tu miss goin' off if possible. Click! went the match,—up jumped the flock, or tried tu. As they bunched up, Peggy blazed intu 'em, settlin’ how many I didn't know, …

  13. To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).

    clear weather settles the roads

  14. To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.

    The weather settled.

    Wait until the crowd settles before speaking.

  15. To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.

    The roads settled late in the spring.

  16. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    And he settled his countenance stedfastly [upon him], until he was ashamed.

  17. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    Now thirteen Years of Age were ſwiftly run, / When the fond Father thought the time drew on / Of ſettling in the World his only Son.

    But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever.

  18. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    to settle a minister

  19. To establish or become established in a steady position:
  20. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    He sighs with most success that settles well.

  21. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    As People marry now, and ſettle; / Fierce Love abates his uſual Mettle: [...]

  22. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    He is settled in the profession of law at Rochester, New York.

    Following his avowed aim to settle in his profession of medicine, Sloane arranged to call on Dr Thomas Sydenham, the foremost physician of his day in London, known as 'the English Hippocrates'.

  23. To establish or become established in a steady position:

    But then the Wind came about, and ſetled in the West for many dayes, ſo as we could make little or no way, and were ſometimes in purpoſe to turne backe.

    Chyle [...] runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red.

  24. To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)

    the Saxons who settled in Britain

    The British could identify very few ‘village elders’ in the colony. The reason was that the majority of the Chinese in Hong Kong were male immigrants with no village to which to attach themselves. They tended to settle in an area known as Sheung Wan (the Upper Bay) on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island.

  25. To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)

    the French first settled Canada

    the Puritans settled New England

  26. To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).

    Rome began to settle displaced or disenfranchised citizens, veterans, and allies in colonies beyond Italy.

  27. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    to settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee

  28. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    to settle the sediment out of the water

  29. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    to settle the chips in the potato chip bag by shaking it

  30. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
  31. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    Sometimes a tub will settle at one corner, causing the rim to slope.

  32. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    The chips in the bag of potato chips settled during shipping.

  33. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.

    wine settles by standing

  34. Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.

    Some mares do not show signs of being in heat even when tried ("teased") regularly with a stallion, but they often can be settled either by natural or artificial service, provided the approximate time of ovulation is determined and they are not suffering from either a diseased or abnormal condition of the reproductive system.

    During March, 1926, two more mares were bred to him and on February 14, 1927 one of them foaled a perfectly formed bay stud foal. It is not known whether or not the other mare settled for she was never returned for trial.