Crossword Genius

Settler in Panama? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

colonist

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'settler' is the definition.
(I know that settler can be written as colonist)

'in panama?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'in panama?' could be 'colon' (I've seen this before) and 'colon' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ist' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for colonist that I've seen before include "Settler" , "I'll settle" , "Coin slot (anag.)" , "Immigrant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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