presettlement

adjective

pre·​set·​tle·​ment ˌprē-ˈse-tᵊl-mənt 

variants or pre-settlement

1

: existing or occurring before occupation by settlers

the presettlement wildlife population

historical descriptions of presettlement forests

In presettlement times, heavily vegetated surroundings contributed small amounts of sediment and nutrients to these wetlands.

—Jon A. Kusler et al.

… a reasonable midpoint between the extremes of doing nothing and trying to return the bay to its presettlement condition.

—Deborah S. Knopman and Megan M. Susman

2

law : existing or occurring before a settlement (see settlement sense 2a) is reached

a presettlement hearing/conference

She estimated that about 25 percent of presettlement loans result in a loss to the lender because the settlement did not come through.

—Ken Belson

Examples of presettlement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The land that was here presettlement is gone. ... —Susan Du, Star Tribune, 20 May 2021

By the 1990s, the presettlement population of about 10,000 iguanas had fallen to about 200. —Murray Carpenter, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1