'To settle the land' definitions:

Definition of 'To settle the land'

From: GCIDE
  • 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. [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]