Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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

            The father thought the time drew on Of setting in
            the world his only son.               --Dryden.

   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.]

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

            God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.
                                                  --Chapman.

            Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. --Bunyan.

   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.

   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.

   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.

   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.

            It will settle the wavering, and confirm the
            doubtful.                             --Swift.

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

   9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to
      settle an account.

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

   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.

   {To settle on} or {upon}, to confer upon by permanent grant;
      to assure to. ``I . . . have settled upon him a good
      annuity.'' --Addison.

   {To settle the land} (Naut.), to cause it to sink, or appear
      lower, by receding from it.

   Syn: To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust;
        determine; decide.

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.

   2. pl. That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees;
      dregs; sediment. --Milton.

   {Settling day}, a day for settling accounts, as in the stock
      market.

Source : WordNet®

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