Part 272

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, 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.