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.
Set"tle , 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.
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 (?), n. [OE.
setel, setil, a seat, AS. setl: akin to OHG. sezzal, G. sessel, Goth. sitls,
and E. sit. √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.]
Hear it pronounced