The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.
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            And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him,
            until he was ashamed.                 --2 Kings
                                                  viii. 11.
                                                  (Rev. Ver.)
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            The father thought the time drew on
            Of setting in the world his only son. --Dryden.
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   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.]
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   3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to
      render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
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            God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.
                                                  --Chapman.
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            Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. --Bunyan.
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   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.
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   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.
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   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.
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   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.
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            It will settle the wavering, and confirm the
            doubtful.                             --Swift.
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   8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to
      compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.
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   9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to
      settle an account.
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   10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [Colloq.] --Abbott.
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   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.
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   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.
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   Syn: To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust;
        determine; decide.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.
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   2. pl. That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees;
      dregs; sediment. --Milton.
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   Settling day, a day for settling accounts, as in the stock
      market.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

settling
    n 1: a gradual sinking to a lower level [syn: settling,
         subsiding, subsidence]