settle
UK /ˈsɛ.təl/ · US /ˈsɛtəl/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms settles settling settled sattle
- verb (transitive) To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc). “His fears were settled”
- verb (transitive) To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish. “to settle a quarrel”
- verb (transitive) In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.
- verb (transitive) To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due.
- verb (transitive, colloquial) To pay (a bill or debt).
- verb (intransitive) To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute. “He has settled with his creditors.”
- verb (intransitive) To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court.
- verb (transitive) To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). “to settle my affairs”
- noun (archaic) A seat of any kind.
- noun (now rare) A long bench with a high back and arms, often with chest or storage space underneath.
- noun (obsolete) A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part. (Compare a depression.)
- proper noun A town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Craven district (OS grid ref SD816640).
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Allen County, Kentucky, United States.
- proper noun A habitational surname from Old English.
Synonyms
seal dispose dispose of discharge adjust arrange compose decide determine establish fix regulate settee settle down resolve adjudicate square off square up locate reconcile patch up make up conciliate sink go down go under root take root steady down subside
Antonyms
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.
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.
From Old English setl (“sitting, residence”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A seat of any kind. [Obs.] "Upon the settle of his majesty" Hampole.
- noun A bench; especially, a bench with a high back.
- verb 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.
- verb 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.]
Etymology [OE. setel, setil, a seat, AS. setl: akin to OHG. sezzal, G. sessel, Goth. sitls, and E. sit. sq. root154. See Sit.]
Etymology [OE. setlen, AS. setlan. sq. root154. 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.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “settle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details