different between settle vs close

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?tl?/
• (General American) enPR: s?t??l, IPA^(key): /?s?t?l/
• Rhymes: -?t?l
• Hyphenation: set?tle

Etymology 1

From a merger of two verbs:

• Middle English setlen, from Old English setlan (“to settle, seat, put to rest”), from Old English setl (“seat”) (compare Dutch zetelen (“to be established, settle”)) and
• Middle English sahtlen, seihtlen (“to reconcile, calm, subside”), from Old English sahtlian, ?esehtlian (“to reconcile”), from Old English saht, seht (“settlement, agreement, reconciliation, peace”) (see saught, -le).

German siedeln (“to settle”) is related to the former of the two verbs, but is not an immediate cognate of either of them.

Verb

settle (third-person singular simple present settles, present participle settling, simple past and past participle settled)

1. To conclude or resolve (something):
   1. (transitive) To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc).
   2. (transitive) To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish.
      1. (transitive) In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.
   3. (transitive) To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due.
      • 2012, Paul Kelly, Willie Blair: A Tale of True Loss and Sadness ?ISBN:

        The coffee was only surface wet and looked worse than it actually was and as he returned to the Reception Desk to settle his account and give back his room key, he was met again by the young man who was still wearing his rucksack.

   4. (transitive, colloquial) To pay (a bill).

   5. (intransitive) To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute.

   6. (intransitive) To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court.
2. (transitive) To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
   1. (transitive) To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly.
      • 2012, Nancy Gideon, Seeker of Shadows ?ISBN:

        She twisted out from under the claim of his palm to settle her feet on the floor.

      • 2002, Tom Deitz, Warautumn ?ISBN, page 53:

        Pausing only to settle his cloak and set his Regent's circlet on his hair, he strode to the rail and waited.

   2. (transitive) To cause to no longer be in a disturbed, confused or stormy; to quiet; to calm (nerves, waters, a boisterous or rebellious child, etc).
   3. (Britain, dialectal) To silence, especially by force.
   4. to kill.
      • 1894-5, Patterson, Man and Nature (in The Primitive Methodist Magazine):

        I poured a charge of powder over the nipple so as not tu miss goin' off if possible. Click! went the match,—up jumped the flock, or tried tu. As they bunched up, Peggy blazed intu 'em, settlin’ how many I didn't know, [...]

   5. (transitive) To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition.

3. (intransitive) To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.
   1. (intransitive) To become firm, dry, and hard, like the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared.

4. To establish or become established in a steady position:
   1. (transitive) To place in(to) a fixed or permanent condition or position or on(to) a permanent basis; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish or fix.
   2. (transitive) In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc.
      1. (transitive, US, obsolete) In particular, to establish in pastoral office; to ordain or install as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish.

   3. (transitive, law) To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person).
   4. (intransitive) To become married, or a householder.
   5. (intransitive, with "in") To be established in a profession or in employment.
   6. (intransitive, usually with "down", "in", "on" or another preposition) To become stationary or fixed; to come to rest.
      • 1735, John Arbuthnot, An essay concerning the nature of aliments

        Chyle [...] runs through all the intermediate colors until it settles in an intense red.

5. (intransitive) To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)
   1. (transitive, in particular) To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc).

6. (transitive) To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).
7. To sink, or cause (something, or impurities within it) to sink down, especially so as to become clear or compact.
   1. (transitive) To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink.

   2. (transitive) To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc).

   3. (transitive) To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down.

   4. (intransitive) To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir.
   5. (intransitive) To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, for example the foundation of a house, etc.
   6. (intransitive) To become compact due to sinking.

   7. (intransitive) To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. also used figuratively.)

8. (intransitive, obsolete) To make a jointure for a spouse.
   • 1712, Samuel Garth, Epilogue to Cato, a Tragedy, by Joseph Addison:

     He sighs with most success that settles well.

9. (transitive, intransitive) Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.

Alternative forms

• sattle (in several British dialects)

Synonyms

• adjust
• arrange
• compose
• decide
• determine
• establish
• fix
• regulate

Antonyms

• (to place in a fixed or permanent condition): remove
• disturb
• agitate
• wander

Derived terms

Related terms

• settlement
• settler

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English settle, setle, setel, setil, seotel, from Old English setl (“that upon which one sits, a seat, a settle, a place to sit”), from Proto-Germanic *setlaz (“a seat; arm-chair”), representing Proto-Indo-European *sed-lo-, from *sed- (“sit”). Cognate with Dutch zetel, German Sessel, Latin sella.

Noun

settle (plural settles)

1. (archaic) A seat of any kind.
   • c. 1348, Richard Rolle, The Form of Living

     sit on a settle of joy with angels

   • 1608, Joshua Sylvester, "The Law", in Du Bartas his divine weekes and workes

     If hunger drive the Pagans from their dens,

     One, 'gainst a settle breaketh both his shins;

   • 1878–1880, John Richard Green, A History of the English People:

     [The] Queen or eorl's wife, with a train of maidens, bore ale-bowl or mead-bowl round the hall, from the high settle of king or ealdorman in the midst to the mead benches ranged around its walls, while the gleeman sang the hero-songs

2. (now rare) A long bench with a high back and arms, often with chest or storage space underneath.
   • 1880, Ellen Murray Beam, English translation of Captain Fracasse by Théophile Gautier (?ISBN):

     Let us return now to the little girl we left feigning to sleep soundly upon a settle in the kitchen.

   • 1886, John Williamson Palmer, After His Kind:

     By the fireside, the big arm-chair [...] fondly cronied with two venerable settles within the chimney corner.

3. (obsolete) A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform lower than some other part. (Compare a depression.)

Further reading

• settle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• settle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• settle at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• ettles, tetels

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English closen (“to close, enclose”), partly continuing (in altered form) earlier Middle English clusen (“to close”) (from Old English cl?san (“to close, shut”); compare beclose, foreclose, etc.), and partly derived from Middle English clos (“close, shut up, confined, secret”, adjective), from Old French clos (“close, confined”, adjective), from Latin clausus (“shut up”, past participle), from claudere (“to bar, block, close, enclose, bring an end to, confine”), from Proto-Indo-European *kl?w- (“key, hook, nail”), related to Latin cl?vis (“key, deadbolt, bar”), cl?vus (“nail, peg”), claustrum (“bar, bolt, barrier”), claustra (“dam, wall, barricade, stronghold”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ????? (kleís, “bar, bolt, key”), German schließen (“to close, conclude, lock”), Dutch sluiten (“to close, conclude, lock”). Partially replaced Old English l?can (“to close, lock, enclose”), (whence English lock).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kl?z, IPA^(key): /kl??z/
• (General American) enPR: kl?z, IPA^(key): /klo?z/
• Rhymes: -??z
• Homophone: clothes (in some dialects)

Verb

close (third-person singular simple present closes, present participle closing, simple past and past participle closed)

1. (physical) To remove a gap.
   1. To obstruct (an opening).
   2. To move so that an opening is closed.
      • If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.

   3. To make (e.g. a gap) smaller.

   4. To grapple; to engage in close combat.
      • 1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Phillip II

        They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.

2. (social) To finish, to terminate.
   1. To put an end to; to conclude; to complete; to finish; to consummate.

      • One frugal supper did our studies close.

   2. To come to an end.

   3. (marketing) To make a sale.
   4. (baseball, pitching) To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.

   5. (figuratively, computing) To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
3. To come or gather around; to enclose; to encompass; to confine.

   • The depth closed me round about.

   • 1633, George Herbert, The Church

     But now Thou dost Thyself immure and close / In some one corner of a feeble heart; / Where yet both Sinne and Satan, Thy old foes, / Do pinch and straiten Thee, and use much art / To gain Thy thirds' and little part.

4. (surveying) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.

Synonyms

• (obstruct (an opening)): close off, close up, cover, shut, shut off
• (move (a door)): shut
• (put an end to): end, finish, terminate, wind up, close down
• (make (a gap) smaller): narrow
• (terminate a computer program): close out, exit

Antonyms

• (obstruct (an opening)): open
• (move (a door)): open
• (put an end to): begin, commence, initiate, start
• (make (a gap) smaller): extend, widen
• (terminate a computer program): open, start

Hyponyms

• autoclose

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

close (plural closes)

1. An end or conclusion.

   We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close.
2. The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
3. (sales) The point at the end of a sales pitch when the consumer is asked to buy.

   Synonym: closer

   • 1983, Charles B. Roth, ?Roy Alexander, Secrets of Closing Sales (page 110)

     Regardless of the situation, the minute you feel it's time for the close, try it.

4. A grapple in wrestling.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

5. (music) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.

   • At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song.

6. (music) A double bar marking the end.
7. (aviation, travel) The time when checkin staff will no longer accept passengers for a flight.

Synonyms

• (end): end, finale

Antonyms

• (end): beginning, start

Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French clos, from Latin clausum, participle of claud?.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kl?s, IPA^(key): /kl??s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /klo?s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Adjective

close (comparative closer, superlative closest)

2. (now rare) Closed, shut.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew chapter 8:

     There is nothinge so close, that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.

   • 1830, Thomas Thomson (chemist) The History of Chemistry, Vol. 1, pp. 30-31:

     As the alchymists were assiduous workmen—as they mixed all the metals, salts, &c... and subjected such mixtures to the action of heat in close vessels, their labours were occasionally repaid by the discovery of new substances...

   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre, chapter 1:

     I mounted into the window-seat: gathering up my feet, I sat cross-legged, like a Turk; and, having drawn the red moreen curtain nearly close, I was shrined in double retirement.

3. Narrow; confined.

   a close alley; close quarters

   • a close prison

4. At a little distance; near.

5. Intimate; well-loved.
   1. (law) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
6. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
7. (Ireland, England, Scotland, weather) Hot, humid, with no wind.
9. (linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
10. Strictly confined; carefully guarded.

    a close prisoner

11. (obsolete) Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.

    • He yet kept himself close because of Saul.
12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced.

    a close contest

13. Short.

    to cut grass or hair close

14. (archaic) Dense; solid; compact.
    • 1690, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

      The golden globe being put into a press, [...] the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.

15. (archaic) Concise; to the point.

    close reasoning

    • 1690, John Dryden, Translations (Preface)

      Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.

16. (dated) Difficult to obtain.

    Money is close.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Bartlett to this entry?)

17. (dated) Parsimonious; stingy.
    • 1837, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Twice-Told Tales, Volume I: "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe":

      [...] he was a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice.

    • 1852-1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House

      Though a hard-grained man, close, dry, and silent, he can enjoy old wine with the best. He has a priceless bin of port in some artful cellar under the Fields, which is one of his many secrets.

18. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact.

    a close translation

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Locke to this entry?)

19. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict.

    The patient was kept under close observation.

20. Marked, evident.

Synonyms

• (at a little distance): close by, near, nearby; see also Thesaurus:near
• (intimate): intimate
• (hot, humid): muggy, oppressive; see also Thesaurus:muggy
• (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate): high
• (dense, solid, compact): see also Thesaurus:compact

Antonyms

• (at a little distance): distant, far, faraway, far off, remote; see also Thesaurus:distant
• (intimate): aloof, cool, distant
• (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate): open

Hyponyms

• thisclose
• ultra-close

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

close (plural closes)

1. (now rare, chiefly Yorkshire) An enclosed field.
2. (chiefly British) A street that ends in a dead end.
3. (Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
4. (Scotland) The common staircase in a tenement.
5. A cathedral close.
6. (law) The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bouvier to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (street): cul-de-sac
• (narrow alley): See Thesaurus:alley

Translations

Descendants

• ? Irish: clós
• ? Welsh: clos

Anagrams

• Coles, coles, socle

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

close

1. feminine singular of clos

Verb

close

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of clore
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of clore

Participle

close

1. feminine singular of the past participle of clore

Anagrams

• socle

Middle English

Noun

close

1. plural of cloth

Portuguese

Noun

close m (plural closes)

1. (photography) close-up (photography in which the subject is shown at a large scale)

   Synonym: close-up

2. attitude