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.
Settle
(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.
