ˈsed. ə lmənt, -et ə l- noun
( -s )
Etymology: settle (II) + -ment
1. : the act of settling or state of being settled
2.
a. : fixation in position
b. : a fixed position
c. : establishment in life, in business, in office
d. : ordination or installation as pastor
3.
a. : establishment of order : regulation
b. : an established order
4.
a. : an act of bestowing or giving possession under legal sanction : a formal and permanent grant or conveyance
b. : something that is bestowed formally and permanently : the sum, estate, or income secured to one by a settlement
c. : a disposition of property usually through the medium of trustees for the benefit of some person or of persons in succession — compare jointure 2
d. : a provision in addition to salary (as by gift of land or house) made by a congregation for its minister on his installation to help him set up house
5.
a. : an act of settling oneself in a position or location
settlement of small industries … was encouraged — G.W.Hoffman
b. : legal residence of a person in a particular parish or town that entitles him to maintenance if a pauper and subjects the parish or town to his support
6.
a. : occupation by settlers : colonization
settlement preceded survey instead of following it — Arthur Geddes
b. : a colony newly established : a place or region newly settled
c. : a small village in a sparsely settled region
site of a once prosperous crofting settlement — L.D.Stamp
d. : an area set apart in eastern countries for the residence of foreigners
e. : a community formed by members of a religious body or faith
Mennonite settlement
f. : a small cluster of houses or huts ; especially : slave quarters on a plantation
g. : an institution founded and maintained among a congested city population often under the auspices of a church, college, or similar organization to supply various educational, recreational, medical, and other services to the community
social settlement
art settlement
— called also neighborhood house
7.
a. : clarification by deposition of sediment or separation of scum
b. : subsidence of sand or loose earth
c.
(1) : the gradual sinking of a structure either by the yielding of the ground under the foundation or by the compression of the joints or the material
(2) settlements plural : fractures or dislocations caused by unequal sinking of a structure
d. : tranquilization
8.
a. : composure of doubts or differences : adjustment
settlement of a controversy
settlement of a strike
b. India : the act of arranging between the government and the cultivators the terms and incidence of the land revenue demand over specific areas
9. : payment or adjustment of an account : satisfaction of a claim by agreement often with less than full payment
settlement of tax arrears
10. : the administrative determination pursuant to statute of the amount due under a public contract with the government or a subdivision thereof
11. : an act or process by or the period during which transactions for the account on the London stock exchange are settled by arranging to carry them over or by completing the bargains by payment and delivery