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The act of one who, or that which, settles; the act of establishing one's self, of colonizing, subsiding, adjusting, etc.

Wavering; unsettled; inconstant. [Obs.] Holland.

A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained; as, the sight of a quadrant. Thier eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel. Shak.

it down when tired. (b) To begin a siege; as, the enemy sat down before the town. (c) To settle; to fix a permanent abode. Spenser. (d) To rest; to cease as satisfied. "Here we can not sit down, but still proceed in our search." Rogers. -- To sit for a fellowship, to offer one's self for examination with a view to obt…

A settled quantity or allowance. See Assize. [Obs.] "To scant my sizes." Shak.

Quick, pungent, lively pain; a pricking local pain, as the pain from puncture by nettles. "In pain's smart." Chaucer.

That which finishes or ends a matter; a settler; a poser, as a heavy blow, a conclusive answer, and the like. [Slang, U.S.]

iderable degree of the thing or quality denoted in the first part of the compound; as in mettlesome, full of mettle or spirit; gladsome, full of gladness; winsome, blithesome, etc.

In the western United States, one who settles on government land before it is legally open to settlement in order to gain the prior claim that the law gives to the first settler when the land is opened to settlement; hence, any one who does a thing prematurely or anticipates another in acting in order to gain an unfair…

arge-rooted weeds; a similarly shaped implement used for various purposes. My spud these nettles from the stone can part. Swyft.

An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of spunk. [Colloq.] A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and spirit, and power, both of mind and body. Prof. Wilson.

urge laurel, a European shrub (Daphne Laureola) with oblong evergreen leaves. -- Spurge nettle. See under Nettle. -- Spurge olive, an evergreen shrub (Daphne oleoides) found in the Mediterranean region.

the square with, upon equality with; even with. Nares. -- To be all squares, to be all settled. [Colloq.] Dickens. -- To be at square, to be in a state of quarreling. [Obs.] Nares. -- To break no square, to give no offense; to make no difference. [Obs.] -- To break squares, to depart from an accustomed order. To se…

To settle on another's land without title; also, to settle on common or public lands.

One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land without a title. In the United States and Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon government land under permission and restrictions, before acquiring title. In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were toler…

To settle permanently in a state; to make firm; to establish; to fix. [Obs.] 2 Sam. vii. 13.

In a stable manner; firmly; fixedly; steadily; as, a government stably settled.

Established by law, custom, or the like; settled; continually existing; permanent; not temporary; as, a standing army; legislative bodies have standing rules of proceeding and standing committees.

A settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale traffic. The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade. Arbuthnot. For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses…

Fixed; settled; steady; statary. [Obs.]