settle

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a long wooden bench with a back
  2. verb settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
  3. verb bring to an end; settle conclusively

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

settee

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