single

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Middle English sengle, from Old French sengle, from Latin singulus a diminutive from the root in simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪŋɡl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋɡəl

Adjective

single (not comparable)

1. Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.

   Can you give me a single reason not to leave right now?

   The vase contained a single long-stemmed rose.

2. Not divided in parts.

   The potatoes left the spoon and landed in a single big lump on the plate.

3. Designed for the use of only one.

   a single room

4. Not married, and also not dating.

   Forms often ask if a person is single, married, divorced, or widowed. In this context, a person who is dating someone but who has never married puts "single".

   Josh put down that he was a single male on the dating website.

5. (botany) Having only one rank or row of petals.
6. (obsolete) Simple and honest; sincere, without deceit.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke XI:

     Therefore, when thyne eye is single: then is all thy boddy full off light. Butt if thyne eye be evyll: then shall all thy body be full of darknes?

Synonyms

• (not accompanied by anything else): lone, sole
• (not divided in parts): unbroken, undivided, uniform
• (not married): unmarried

Antonyms

• (single): divorced, married, widowed

Derived terms

Derived terms

single-acting single bed single-blind/single blind single bond single-cell single-celled single-click single combat single cream single crochet single cross single crystal single currency single data rate singledom single-elimination single entry single-eyed single file single flower single-fold single-foot single grave single-handed single-handedly single-hearted singlehood single-horse single-issue single leaf single-line single knot single malt single market single-minded single money

single mother singleness single-o single option single parent single-phase single-phasing singleplayer single-ply roof single pneumonia single-point single-point urban interchange single point of failure single precision single prop single quote singler single scull single-sex single shell single shot single-shot single sourcing single-space single-spaced single-spacing single standard single star system singlestick single stitch single supplement singlet single tax singleton single track single union agreement single-valued single-wide single-word

Related terms

• singly

Translations

not accompanied by anything else

• Czech: samotný (cs), jednotlivý (cs)
• Finnish: yksittäinen (fi)
• German: einzeln (de), einzig (de), allein (de)
• Italian: singolo (it)
• Latin: singulus (la)
• Persian: یک (fa) (yek), یکدونه (fa) (yekdune) (colloquial)
• Portuguese: único (pt), particular (pt), solitário (pt)
• Romanian: singur (ro)

• Russian: один (ru) (odín) m, одна (ru) (odná) f, единственный (ru) (jedínstvennyj)
• Santali: ᱮᱠᱚ (eka)
• Serbo-Croatian: sam (sh)
• Spanish: solo (es), único (es)
• Swedish: enda (sv), enstaka (sv)
• Tok Pisin: wanpela (tpi), wanpis (tpi)

not divided in parts

• Catalan: simple (ca)
• German: einzig (de), einheitlich (de), vereint (de), gemeinsam (de)
• Portuguese: inteiro (pt), unitário (pt)
• Romanian: singur (ro), unit (ro), unitar (ro) m and n, întreg (ro), nedivizat (ro) m and n

• Russian: единый (ru) (jedínyj), целый (ru) (célyj)
• Spanish: solo (es), único (es)
• Swedish: enhetlig (sv), odelad (sv)
• Tok Pisin: wanpis (tpi)

designed for the use of only one

• German: einzel (de)
• Greek: μονόκλινο (el) (monóklino)
• Irish: singil (ga)
• Persian: یک‌نفره (fa) (yek-nafare)
• Portuguese: particular (pt)

• Romanian: separat (ro) m and n, individual (ro), singular (ro)
• Russian: одинарный (ru) (odinárnyj), для одного (ru) (dlja odnogó) (read: dlja odnovó)
• Swedish: enkel (sv)

not married nor dating

• Arabic: أعزب (ar) ('á`zab), غير متزوج (ar) (ghayr muzáwwij) m
• Armenian: չամուսնացած (hy) (čamusnac’aç), ամուրի (hy) (amuri)
• Catalan: escàpol (Algherese)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獨身 (cmn), 独身 (cmn) (dúshēn), 單身 (cmn), 单身 (cmn) (dānshēn), 未婚 (cmn) (wèihūn)

• Czech: svobodný (cs)
• Dutch: alleenstaand (nl)
• Finnish: naimaton, sinkku (colloquial)
• French: célibataire (fr)
• German: ledig (de), unverheiratet (de), alleinstehend (de), single (de), solo (de)
• Greek: ανύπαντρος (el) (anýpantros)
• Hindi: अविवाहित (hi) (avivāhit)
• Irish: singil (ga)
• Italian: single, nubile (donna), celibe (uomo)
• Japanese: 独身 (ja) (どくしん, dokushin), 未婚 (ja) (みこん, mikon), 独り (ja) (ひとり, hitori)
• Low German: leddig (nds), ledig (nds)

• Malay: bujang (ms) c
• Persian: مجرد (fa) (mojarrad)
• Portuguese: solteiro (pt)
• Romanian: celibatar (ro) m, necăsătorit (ro) m and n
• Russian: (of men) неженатый (ru) (neženátyj), (of men) холостой (ru) (xolostój) m (colloquial), (of women) незамужняя (ru) (nezamúžnjaja) f, (both sexes) одинокий (ru) (odinókij)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese Sardinian: bagadìu, solteri

  Gallurese Sardinian: vaggjànu

  Logudorese Sardinian: bayanu, éniu

• Sassarese Sardinian: vagiànu
• Serbo-Croatian: neoženjen (sh), sam (sh)
• Spanish: soltero (es) m, soltera (es) f
• Swedish: ensamstående (sv), ogift (sv)
• Thai: เดี่ยว (th) (dìeow)
• Turkish: bekar (tr)
• Vietnamese: độc thân (vi)
• Volapük: selibik (vo)

botany: having only one rank or row of petal

• Swedish: enkel (sv)

Related terms

• singular
• singularity
• singularly

Noun

single (plural singles)

1. A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.
2. A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually has at least one extra track.

   The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.

3. One who is not married.

   He went to the party, hoping to meet some friendly singles there.

4. (cricket) A score of one run.
5. (baseball) A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.
6. (dominoes) A tile that has different values (i.e., number of pips) in each end.
7. A bill valued at $1.

   I don't have any singles, so you'll have to make change.

8. (UK) A one-way ticket.
9. (Canadian football) A score of one point, awarded when a kicked ball is dead within the non-kicking team's end zone or has exited that end zone. Officially known in the rules as a rouge.
10. (tennis, chiefly plural) A game with one player on each side, as in tennis.
11. One of the reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
12. (UK, Scotland, dialect) A handful of gleaned grain.

Antonyms

• (45rpm vinyl record): album
• (one who is not married): married

Derived terms

• cassingle
• lead single
• singles bar
• singles charts
• split single
• CD single

Translations

45 RPM vinyl record

• Catalan: single (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 單曲 (cmn), 单曲 (cmn) (dānqū)

• Esperanto: unuopaĵo (eo)
• Finnish: single (fi)
• German: Single (de) f
• Irish: singil (ga) f
• Japanese: シングル (ja) (shinguru)

• Korean: 싱글 (ko) (singeul)
• Portuguese: solteiro (pt) m, single (pt) m
• Russian: сингл (ru) (singl) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrllic: сингл (sh) m

  Roman: singl (sh) m

• Spanish: sencillo (es) m
• Swedish: singel (sv) c

popular song

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 單曲 (cmn), 单曲 (cmn) (dānqū)

• Esperanto: unuopaĵo (eo)
• Finnish: single (fi), sinkku (fi)
• German: Single (de) f, Singleauskopplung (de) f
• Irish: singil (ga) f
• Japanese: シングル (ja) (shinguru)
• Korean: 싱글 (ko) (singeul)

• Portuguese: single (pt) m
• Russian: сингл (ru) (singl) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrllic: сингл (sh) m

  Roman: singl (sh) m

• Spanish: sencillo (es) m
• Swedish: singel (sv) c

one who is not married

• Arabic: عزب (ar) (`ázab) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獨身者 (cmn), 独身者 (cmn) (dúshēnzhě)

• Dutch: vrijgezel (nl)
• Finnish: naimaton (fi), sinkku (fi)
• French: célibataire (fr) m and f
• German: Alleinstehender (de) m, Alleinstehende (de) f, (dating jargon) Solomann (de) m, (dating jargon) Solofrau (de) f, Junggeselle (de) m, Junggesellin (de) f, (obsolete) Jungfrau (de) f, (obsolete) Hagestolz (de) m, Single (de) m
• Italian: celibe (it), nubile (it)
• Japanese: 独身 (ja) (どくしん, dokushin)

• Portuguese: solteira (pt) f, solteiro (pt) m
• Russian: (of men) холостяк (ru) (xolostják) m, (of women) незамужняя женщина (ru) (nezamúžnjaja žénščina), (colloquial, both sexes) одиночка (ru) (odinóčka) m and f
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese Sardinian: bagadìu, solteri

  Gallurese Sardinian: vaggjànu

  Logudorese Sardinian: bayanu, éniu

• Sassarese Sardinian: vagiànu
• Serbo-Croatian: singl (sh) m
• Spanish: soltero (es) m, soltera (es) f
• Swedish: ensamstående (sv), ogift (sv)

cricket: score of one run

baseball: hit

• French: simple (fr) m

• Japanese: 単打 (ja) (tanda)

bill valued at $1

• German: Einer (de) m
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: تاک دۆلاری (ku) (tAk dolAri)

one-way ticket — see one-way ticket

See also

• baseball
• cricket

Verb

single (third-person singular simple present singles, present participle singling, simple past and past participle singled)

1. To identify or select one member of a group from the others; generally used with out, either to single out or to single (something) out.

   Eddie singled out his favorite marble from the bag.

   Evonne always wondered why Ernest had singled her out of the group of giggling girls she hung around with.

2. (baseball) To get a hit that advances the batter exactly one base.

   Pedro singled in the bottom of the eighth inning, which, if converted to a run, would put the team back into contention.

3. (agriculture) To thin out.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 7

     Paul went joyfully, and spent the afternoon helping to hoe or to single turnips with his friend.

Derived terms

• single out

See also

Coef	Noun	Result
1	single
2	double	doublet
3	triple	triplet
4	quadruple	quadruplet
5	quintuple	quintuplet
6	sextuple	sextuplet

References

• single in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “single” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: sweet · duty · heavy · #615: single · foot · beauty · attention

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Italian

Etymology

English

Noun

single m and f (invariable)

1. single, loner (person who lives alone and has no emotional ties)