settle
/ˈsɛtəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "His fears were settled"
- "She hopes to settle any questions about the plans."
- "The question of the succession to a throne needs to be settled."
- "It is a Pamphlet, [...] It will ſettle the Wavering, confirm the Doubtful, inſtruct the Ignorant, inflame the Clamorous, though it never be once looked into."
- "to settle a quarrel"
- "The coffee was only surface wet and looked worse than it actually was and as he returned to the Reception Desk to settle his account and give back his room key, he was met again by the young man who was still wearing his rucksack."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: setlen, setlan, setl, sahtlen, sahtlian, saht
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɛtəl/
- British English: /ˈsɛ.təl/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- Colloquial
- Intransitive verb
- British usage
- American usage
- Obsolete
- Archaic
- Countable