diff --git a/lib/sinatra/base.rb b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
index 56a07b1f..2bb1dab1 100644
--- a/lib/sinatra/base.rb
+++ b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
@@ -390,10 +390,11 @@ module Sinatra
       [status, header, body]
     end
 
-    # Access options defined with Base.set.
-    def options
+    # Access settings defined with Base.set.
+    def settings
       self.class
     end
+    alias_method :options, :settings
 
     # Exit the current block, halts any further processing
     # of the request, and returns the specified response.
diff --git a/test/options_test.rb b/test/options_test.rb
index 19f5ea2d..8b046ca7 100644
--- a/test/options_test.rb
+++ b/test/options_test.rb
@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ class OptionsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal 'okay', body
   end
 
+  it 'is accessible from instances via #settings' do
+    assert_equal :development, @base.new.settings.environment
+  end
+
   describe 'clean_trace' do
     def clean_backtrace(trace)
       Sinatra::Base.new.send(:clean_backtrace, trace)