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Webster 1913 Edition


Settle

Set′tle

,
Noun.
[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.]

Set′tle

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Settled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Settling
.]
[OE.
setlen
, AS.
setlan
. √154. See
Settle
,
Noun.
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
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.
Syn. – To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust; determine; decide.

Set′tle

,
Verb.
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.
Shakespeare
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.

Webster 1828 Edition


Settle

SET'TLE

,
Noun.
[L. sedile. See Set.] A seat or bench; something to sit on.

SET'TLE

,
Verb.
T.
[from set.]
1. To place in a permanent condition after wandering or fluctuation.
I will settle you after your old estates. Ezek. 36.
2. To fix; to establish; to make permanent in any place.
I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever. 1 Chron. 17.
3. To establish in business or way of life; as, to settle a son in trade.
4. To marry; as, to settle a doughter.
5. To establish; to confirm.
Her will alone could settle or revoke. Prior.
6. To determine what is uncertain; to establish; to free from doubt; as, to settle questions or points of law. The supreme court have settled the question.
7. To fix; to establish; to make certain or permanent; as, to settle the succession to the thron in a particular family. So we speak of settled habits and settled opinions.
8. To fix or establish; not to suffer to doubt or waver.
It will settle teh wavering and confirm the doubtful. Swift.
9. To make close or compact.
Cover ant-hills up that the rain may settle the turf before the spring.