settling

Verb (usu participle)

set=tling

WORDNET DICTIONARY

settling(n = noun.event) subsidence, subsiding - a gradual sinking to a lower level;

is a kind of sinking

Derived form verb settle₁₇

settling, n.

The act of one who, or that which, settles; the act of establishing one's self, of colonizing, subsiding, adjusting, etc. [1913 Webster]
That which settles at the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs; sediment. Milton. [1913 Webster]

Settling day, a day for settling accounts, as in the stock market.