Settling

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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              And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him,
              until he was ashamed.                 --2 Kings
                                                    viii. 11.
                                                    (Rev. Ver.)
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              The father thought the time drew on
              Of setting in the world his only son. --Dryden.
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     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.]
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     3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to
        render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
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              God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.
                                                    --Chapman.
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              Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. --Bunyan.
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     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.
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     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.
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     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.
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     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.
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              It will settle the wavering, and confirm the
              doubtful.                             --Swift.
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     8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to
        compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.
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     9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to
        settle an account.
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     10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [Colloq.] --Abbott.
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     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.
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     {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.
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     Syn: To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust;
          determine; decide.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Settling \Set"tling\, n.
     1. The act of one who, or that which, settles; the act of
        establishing one's self, of colonizing, subsiding,
        adjusting, etc.
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     2. pl. That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees;
        dregs; sediment. --Milton.
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     {Settling day}, a day for settling accounts, as in the stock
        market.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  settling
       n : a gradual sinking to a lower level [syn: {subsiding}, {subsidence}]