settle

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
settle1

▶verb

• 1 resolve or reach an agreement or decision about (an argument or problem).

  ■ (settle for) accept or agree to (something less than satisfactory).

• 2 (often settle down) adopt a more steady or secure style of life, especially in a permanent job and home.

  ■ (settle down to) apply oneself to.

  ■ become or make calmer or quieter.

• 3 sit or come to rest in a comfortable position.

  ■ begin to feel comfortable in a new situation.

• 4 fall or come down on to a surface.

  ■ (of suspended particles) sink slowly in a liquid to form sediment.

  ■ (of an object) gradually sink down under its own weight.

  ■ (of a ship) begin to sink.

• 5 pay (a debt or account).

  ■ (settle something on) give money or property to (someone) through a deed of settlement or a will.

• 6 dated silence (a troublesome person).

– derivatives
settleable adjective.

– origin OE setlan ‘to seat, place’, from settle2.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
settle2

▶noun a wooden bench with a high back and arms, typically incorporating a box under the seat.

– origin OE setl ‘a place to sit’, of Gmc origin; rel. to L. sella ‘seat’, also to sit.