settlement
settlement は英検準2級・英検2級・TOEIC 730・TOEFL 60・IELTS 5.5レベルの英単語で、「和解、集落、決済、解決」という意味があります。発音記号は /ˈsɛtəlmənt/ です。
意味一覧 (4件)
和解
解説 Definition
対立や紛争について当事者間で合意し、争いを終わらせること、またはその合意内容を指す名詞。法律、契約、金銭問題の文脈でよく使われ、裁判外の示談や補償条件の取り決めを含むことも多い。
A settlement is an agreement that ends an argument, legal case, or other dispute. It is often used in business or law when both sides accept a final solution without continuing the conflict.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
この「和解」は、settlement の基本的な「解決」とは別に、法律・契約・補償などで争いを終わらせる正式な合意を指す用法です。settle a dispute「紛争を解決する」から、当事者が条件を受け入れて訴訟や交渉を終える結果が settlement。reach a settlement, settlement agreement, out-of-court settlement のように出たら、単なる解決ではなく「和解・示談」と読むと自然です。
If you know `settle` means to calm something or bring it to an end, `settlement` is the result. It often appears when a dispute is finally closed, especially in phrases like `reach a settlement` or `out-of-court settlement`. So link it with a problem being formally finished.
例文
The settlement of the dispute took several months.
その紛争の和解には数か月かかった。
They reached a settlement agreement on the contract.
彼らはその契約をめぐって和解に達した。
The settlement provided compensation to all affected parties.
その和解では、影響を受けたすべての当事者に補償が支払われた。
集落
(意味 2)解説 Definition
人々が住んでいる比較的小さな居住地や、未開発の土地に移り住んで築かれた入植地を指す名詞。地理や歴史の説明でよく使われ、単に家が集まる場所というだけでなく、移住者が定住して社会を形づくった共同体という含みを持つことも多い。
A hug is one act of putting your arms around someone in a warm, friendly, or loving way. It is common when greeting, saying goodbye, comforting someone, or celebrating. Unlike the verb hug, the noun treats the action as one countable moment.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
settle を「落ち着かせる・決着をつける」と知っていると覚えやすい語です。問題や争いを settle した結果が settlement。法律では単なる agreement よりも、もめごとに区切りをつける正式な合意という感じが強く、reach a settlement, settlement talks, out-of-court settlement などでよく見ます。文脈が裁判・補償・金銭交渉なら「和解・示談」と結びつけると定着しやすいです。
Remember a hug as one small event of physical comfort. That is why English often uses phrases like give someone a hug, need a hug, or ask for a hug. Compared with embrace, hug sounds more everyday and less formal.
例文
A small settlement grew near the river.
川の近くに小さな集落が発展した。
Archaeologists found traces of an ancient settlement.
考古学者たちは古代の集落の痕跡を見つけた。
The settlers established a new settlement on the coast.
入植者たちは海岸に新しい入植地を築いた。
決済
(意味 3)解説 Definition
金銭や証券の取引を最終的に処理し、支払いと受け渡しを完了させることを指す名詞。銀行送金、カード利用、証券売買などで使われ、請求や約定の後に、実際に債務が清算されて取引が正式に終わる段階を表す。
Settlement is the final step in a financial transaction, when payment is completed and ownership or funds are officially transferred. It is used in banking, card payments, securities trading, and other business transactions. After a bill, order, or trade is agreed, settlement is the stage where the debt is cleared and the transaction is fully finished.
例文
The bank completed settlement of the payment the next business day.
銀行は翌営業日にその支払いの決済を完了した。
Stock trades usually have a settlement date after the trade date.
株式取引には通常、約定日の後に決済日がある。
The company delayed settlement because there was a problem with the transfer.
送金に問題があったため、会社は決済を遅らせた。
解決
(意味 4)解説 Definition
問題・争い・未処理の事柄が片づき、最終的な結論や処理に至ることを指す名詞です。交渉、問題、計画上の課題など幅広い文脈で使われ、必ずしも法的な和解だけを意味しません。
Settlement is the final resolution of a problem, dispute, or unfinished matter. It is used when something has been dealt with and brought to a clear end through discussion, agreement, or another process. The word is common in many contexts, such as business, planning, and personal conflicts, and it does not only mean a legal agreement.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
settlement は settle「落ち着かせる、決着をつける」に -ment が付いた名詞で、「決着がついた状態・結果」と考えると覚えやすいです。solution は「解決策」、resolution はやや書き言葉で「解決・決議」の響きがあり、settlement は問題や争いが最終的に収まる点に焦点があります。法律文脈では別に「和解」の意味にもなるので、まず広い「解決」を押さえましょう。
Think of settlement as settle plus -ment: the state or result of something being settled. This helps you remember the idea of a matter being brought to a final end. Solution often means the answer or method, while resolution sounds more formal, but settlement focuses on a problem or dispute finally being brought under control. In legal English it can also mean a settlement between sides, but first remember the broader sense of resolution.
例文
After weeks of discussion, both sides finally reached a settlement.
数週間の話し合いの末、双方はついに解決に至った。
The committee is still working toward a settlement of the issue.
委員会はその問題の解決に向けてまだ取り組んでいる。
The settlement of several small problems helped the project move forward.
いくつかの小さな問題の解決が、計画を前に進める助けになった。
settlement の語源・成り立ち Etymology
settlement は settle＋-ment「結果・こと」で、settle は古英語 setlian にさかのぼり、set「置く・据える」と同根です。物事を一定の場所に「落ち着かせる」ことから「解決」の意味が生まれ、関連語に set、setting があります。
Settlement is built from settle + the suffix -ment, which forms nouns for results or processes. Settle goes back to words related to set, with the basic idea of putting something in place and making it stay there. From that physical sense of becoming fixed or stable, the word later developed meanings about resolving matters or establishing a community. Related words include set and setting.
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