Etymology: Old English setl neuter, plural setlu (also, in Northumbrian, plural setlas , seatlas , etc., as if masculine) corresponds to Old High German seȥȥal (Middle High German seȥȥel , modern German sessel ) masculine, Gothic sitl-s masculine < Germanic *setlo- < pre-Germanic *sedlo- , cognate with Latin sella ( < *sedlā ), < Indogermanic root *sed- , Germanic *set- : see sit v. The β forms, Old English (Anglian) seð(e)l , sedl , Middle English -sedil , sedylle , modern northern dialect -seddle , -saddle see langsettle n.), represent a West Germanic variant *seþl (with the irregular variation in the articulation of the dentals sometimes found before l and m : see bottle n.¹, bottom n. and adj.), which is found also in Old Frisian sedel , Old Saxon sethal , sedal , sedel (masculine), Old High German sethal , sedal (Middle High German sedel ) neuter, masculine, whence Middle High German sidelen (modern German siedeln ) to settle in a place. Compare the metathetic form seld n.In English the β type appears only in Anglian dialects (after the Old English period almost exclusively in the forms of langsettle n.), and does not show (as it does in Old High German) any differentiation in application from the α type.

Etymology: < settle v.

Etymology: Old English setlan (only once), < setl seat, place of rest: see settle n.¹ Compare modern Dutch zetelen , to place, settle. The β forms seem to represent another formation from the same Germanic root; ? Old English *sætlan < prehistoric *satuljan < *sat- , ablaut variant of set- : see sit v.In some uses the verb became synonymous with the like-sounding Middle English saȝtle to appease, reconcile (saughtel v.), association with which may perhaps have influenced the development of these uses. In many of the senses explained below, the verb frequently appears with a colouring derived from senses of different origin, so that the position of many of the examples is open to dispute.