n. See Set, n., 2 (e) and 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Set; cf. Settle a seat. ] A long seat with a back, -- made to accommodate several persons at once. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. scétie, scitie. ] (Naut.) A vessel with a very long, sharp prow, carrying two or three masts with lateen sails, -- used in the Mediterranean. [ Written also setee. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, sets; -- used mostly in composition with a noun, as typesetter; or in combination with an adverb, as a setter on (or inciter), a setter up, a setter forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A hunting dog of a special breed originally derived from a cross between the spaniel and the pointer. Modern setters are usually trained to indicate the position of game birds by standing in a fixed position, but originally they indicated it by sitting or crouching. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ There are several distinct varieties of setters; as, the Irish, or red, setter; the Gordon setter, which is usually red or tan varied with black; and the English setter, which is variously colored, but usually white and tawny red, with or without black. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who hunts victims for sharpers. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One who adapts words to music in composition. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An adornment; a decoration; -- with off. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They come as . . . setters off of thy graces. Whitlock. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Pottery) A shallow seggar for porcelain. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cut the dewlap (of a cow or an ox), and to insert a seton, so as to cause an issue. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The bear's-foot (Helleborus fœtidus); -- so called because the root was used in settering, or inserting setons into the dewlaps of cattle. Called also pegroots. Dr. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of one who, or that which, sets; as, the setting of type, or of gems; the setting of the sun; the setting (hardening) of moist plaster of Paris; the setting (set) of a current. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of marking the position of game, as a setter does; also, hunting with a setter. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Something set in, or inserted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt set in it settings of stones. Ex. xxviii. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. That in which something, as a gem, is set; as, the gold setting of a jeweled pin. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. the time, place, and circumstances in which an event (real or fictional) occurs; as, the setting of a novel. [ PJC ]

Setting coat (Arch.), the finishing or last coat of plastering on walls or ceilings. --
Setting dog, a setter. See Setter, n., 2. --
Setting pole, a pole, often iron-pointed, used for pushing boats along in shallow water. --
Setting rule. (Print.) A composing rule. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Any one of a series of gymnastic exercises used, as in drilling recruits, for the purpose of giving an erect carriage, supple muscles, and an easy control of the limbs. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wind came about and settled in the west. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chyle . . . runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To enter into the married state, or the state of a householder. [ 1913 Webster ]

As people marry now and settle. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To be established in an employment or profession; as, to settle in the practice of law. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

A government, on such occasions, is always thick before it settles. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the foundation of a house, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To become calm; to cease from agitation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Till the fury of his highness settle,
Come not before him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To make a jointure for a wife. [ 1913 Webster ]

He sighs with most success that settles well. Garth. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Settled p. pr. & vb. n. Settling ] [ OE. setlen, AS. setlan. √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. [ 1913 Webster ]

And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him, until he was ashamed. 2 Kings viii. 11. (Rev. Ver.) [ 1913 Webster ]

The father thought the time drew on
Of setting in the world his only son. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose. [ 1913 Webster ]

God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. Bunyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

It will settle the wavering, and confirm the doubtful. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to settle an account. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [ Colloq. ] Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust; determine; decide. [ 1913 Webster ]