Settle \Set"tle\, n. [OE. setel, setil, a seat, AS. setl: akin to OHG. sezzal, G. sessel, Goth. sitls, and E. sit. [root]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.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Settle \Set"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Settled; p. pr. & vb. n. Settling.]

[OE. setlen, AS. setlan. [root]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.

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

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.

He sighs with most success that settles well. --Garth.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)