Definition
An official agreement that ends a dispute or lawsuit. It can also mean a small community where people have recently started living.
Etymology
From 'settle' + the noun-forming suffix '-ment', originally meaning 'the act of making stable or fixed'. The community sense comes from people establishing a fixed place to live.
Kelly Says
A legal settlement and a frontier settlement both mark the moment something stops being unsettled—whether it’s a conflict or empty land. The word quietly links law, geography, and the basic human desire to stop wandering.
Translations
AFAfrikaans
nedersetting
nedersetting
ARالعربية
مستوطنة
مستوطنة
BGБългарски
селище
селище
CACatalà
assentament
assentament
CSČeština
osídlení
osídlení
DADansk
bosættelse
bosættelse
DEDeutsch
Siedlung
Siedlung
ELΕλληνικά
εγκατάσταση
εγκατάσταση
ESEspañol
asentamiento
asentamiento
EUEuskara
kokaleku
kokaleku
FAفارسی
settlement
settlement
FRFrançais
établissement
établissement
GLGalego
asentamento
asentamento
HEעברית
התיישבות
התיישבות
HRHrvatski
naselje
naselje
HUMagyar
település
település
IDBahasa Indonesia
permukiman
permukiman
ITItaliano
insediamento
insediamento
LTLietuvių
gyvenvietė
gyvenvietė
LVLatviešu
apmetne
apmetne
MSBahasa Melayu
penempatan
penempatan
MYမြန်မာ
နေထိုင်ရာဒေသ
နေထိုင်ရာဒေသ
NLNederlands
nederzetting
nederzetting
NONorsk
bosetning
bosetning
PTPortuguês
assentamento
assentamento
RUРусский
поселение
поселение
SKSlovenčina
osídlenie
osídlenie
SLSlovenščina
naselbina
naselbina
SVSvenska
bosättning
bosättning
SWKiswahili
settlement
settlement
TAதமிழ்
settlement
settlement
TEతెలుగు
settlement
settlement
THไทย
การตั้งถิ่นฐาน
การตั้งถิ่นฐาน
TRTürkçe
yerleşim
yerleşim
UKУкраїнська
поселення
поселення
URاردو
settlement
settlement
VITiếng Việt
khu định cư
khu định cư
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
In colonial and frontier narratives, 'settlement' often erased the roles of women (both settlers and Indigenous women) and obscured gendered violence. In legal contexts, divorce or harassment 'settlements' sometimes silenced women through NDAs and framed justice as a private payoff.
Inclusive Usage
When using 'settlement', specify whose perspectives are included, and avoid neutral language that hides gendered harms or exclusions.
Inclusive Alternatives
["community","colony","agreement","resolution"]
Empowerment Note
In historical and legal discussions of settlements, name women's experiences and leadership, and highlight how settlements sometimes constrained or enabled their rights.