Stealthily take one's leave of French settlement (6)
I believe the answer is:
decamp
'stealthily take one's' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'of french settlement' is the wordplay.
'of french' becomes 'de' ('of' in French).
'settlement' becomes 'camp' (I have seen 'Temporary settlement' mean 'camp' so perhaps 'settlement' could also mean 'camp').
'de'+'camp'='DECAMP'
'leave' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for decamp that I've seen before include "Leave suddenly" , "Run away (unseen)" , "Go away suddenly or secretly - leaving tent?" , "escape" , "Move on" .)