single
English
10 | ||||
1 | 2 → | 10 → | ||
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Cardinal: one Ordinal: first Latinate ordinal: primary Reverse order ordinal: last Latinate reverse order ordinal: ultimate Adverbial: one time, once Multiplier: onefold Latinate multiplier: single Distributive: singly Germanic collective: onesome Germanolatinate collective: singlet, singleton Greek or Latinate collective: monad Greek collective prefix: mono- Latinate collective prefix: uni- Fractional: whole Elemental: singlet, singleton Greek prefix: proto- Number of musicians: solo Number of years: year |
Etymology
From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.
Pronunciation
Adjective
single (not comparable)
- Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.
- 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement.
- Can you give me a single reason not to leave right now?
- The vase contained a single long-stemmed rose.
- Not divided in parts.
- Designed for the use of only one.
- a single room
- Performed by one person, or one on each side.
- a single combat
- 1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC:
- These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, […] / Who now defies thee thrice to single fight.
- Not married or (in modern times) not involved in a romantic relationship without being married or not dating anyone.
- Synonyms: unmarried, unpartnered, available
- 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.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
- To undergo such maiden pilgrimage.
But earthlier happy is the rose distilled
Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
- 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- Single chose to live, and shunned to wed.
- (botany) Having only one rank or row of petals.
- (obsolete) Simple and honest; sincere, without deceit.
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Luke xj:
- 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?
- 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
- I speak it with a single heart.
- Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
- 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:
- simple ideas are opposed to complex , and single ideas to compound.
- 1867, William Greenough Thayer Shedd, Homiletics, and Pastoral Theology (page 166)
- The most that is required is, that the passage of Scripture, selected as the foundation of the sacred oration, should, like the oration itself, be single, full, and unsuperfluous in its character.
- (obsolete) Simple; foolish; weak; silly.
- 1616–1618, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, “The Queene of Corinth”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act III, scene i:
- He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.
Derived terms
- single-acting
- single as a dollar bill
- single as a Pringle
- single bed
- 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
- single-decker
- singledom
- single-elimination
- single entry
- single-eyed
- single-figure
- single file
- single flower
- single-fold
- single-foot
- single grave
- single-handed
- single-handedly
- single-hearted
- singlehood
- single-horse
- single-issue
- single knot
- single leaf
- single-line
- single malt
- single-manned
- single-manning
- 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 of failure
- single-point urban interchange
- single precision
- single prop
- single quote
- singler
- single scull
- single-sex
- single shell
- single-shot
- single shot
- single-sided
- 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-wheeler
- single-wide
- single-word
- singly
Related terms
Translations
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Noun
single (plural singles)
- (music) A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.
- Antonym: album
- (music) A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually having at least one extra track.
- The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.
- One who is not married or does not have a romantic partner.
- Antonym: married
- He went to the party, hoping to meet some friendly singles there.
- (cricket) A score of one run.
- (baseball) A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.
- (dominoes) A tile that has a different value (i.e. number of pips) at each end.
- (US, informal) A bill valued at $1.
- I don't have any singles, so you'll have to make change.
- 1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 94:
- She looked in her purse, found a ten and a single, gave him the ten. ‘I'll spend it on booze,’ he said.
- (UK) A one-way ticket.
- (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.
- (tennis, chiefly in the plural) A game with one player on each side, as in tennis.
- One of the reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
- (UK, Scotland, dialect) A handful of gleaned grain.
- (computing, programming) A floating-point number having half the precision of a double-precision value.
- Coordinate term: double
- 2011, Rubin H. Landau, A First Course in Scientific Computing (page 214)
- If you want to be a scientist or an engineer, learn to say “no” to singles and floats.
- (film) A shot of only one character.
- 1990, Jon Boorstin, The Hollywood Eye: What Makes Movies Work (page 94)
- But if the same scene is shot in singles (or “over-the-shoulder” shots where one of the actors is only a lumpy shoulder in the foreground), the editor and the director can almost redirect the scene on film.
- 1990, Jon Boorstin, The Hollywood Eye: What Makes Movies Work (page 94)
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
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See also
Verb
single (third-person singular simple present singles, present participle singling, simple past and past participle singled)
- 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.
- Yvonne always wondered why Ernest had singled her out of the group of giggling girls she hung around with.
- 1915, Austen Chamberlain, speech on April 16, 1915
- Sir John French says that if he is to single out one regiment in the fighting at Ypres it is the Worcesters he would name? I do plead that some person should record these events, so that our history, national and local, may be the richer for them, that the children may be stimulated to do their duty by the knowledge of the way in which our soldiers are doing theirs to-day.
- (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.
- (agriculture) To thin out.
- 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 7, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
- Paul went joyfully, and spent the afternoon helping to hoe or to single turnips with his friend.
- (of a horse) To take the irregular gait called singlefoot.
- 1860, William S. Clark, Massachusetts Agricultural College Annual Report
- Many very fleet horses, when overdriven, adopt a disagreeable gait, which seems to be a cross between a pace and a trot, in which the two legs of one side are raised almost but not quite, simultaneously. Such horses are said to single, or to be single-footed.
- 1860, William S. Clark, Massachusetts Agricultural College Annual Report
- (intransitive, archaic) To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- an agent singling itself from consorts
- (intransitive, archaic) To take alone, or one by one; to single out.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- men […] commendable when they are singled
- (transitive) To reduce (a railway) to single track.
- 1959 June, “Talking of Trains: North Eastern report”, in Trains Illustrated, page 293:
- In the east of Yorkshire, Mr. A. M. Ross reports the belief of local railwaymen that the N.E.R. plans to single the York-Beverley line, leaving an adequate provision of passing loops, and to operate it by C.T.C. from York; […]
- 1962 October, “Talking of Trains: New signalbox at Twyford”, in Modern Railways, page 226:
- The Henley branch, recently singled and fully track-circuited, is worked by acceptance lever between Twyford and Shiplake cabins.
- 2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in RAIL, number 918, page 48:
- Sadly, it's not the quickest route as much of it has been singled, but it still boasts some attractive stations as well as an active Community Rail Partnership, one of the first in the country.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
References
- “single”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “single”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Alemannic German
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English single.
Adjective
single (indeclinable)
Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
single m (plural singles)
Further reading
- “single” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “single”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “single” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (music record or track): IPA(key): /ˈsɪŋ.əl/, /ˈsɪŋ.ɡəl/
- ((person) without romantic partner): IPA(key): /ˈsɪŋ.ɡəl/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: sin‧gle
Noun
single m (plural singles, diminutive singletje n)
- A single (short music record, e.g. 45 RPM vinyl with an A side and a B side; main track of such a record).
- A single (person without a romantic partner).
Derived terms
Adjective
single (not comparable)
- single (without a romantic partner)
Inflection
Declension of single | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | single | |||
inflected | single | |||
comparative | — | |||
positive | ||||
predicative/adverbial | single | |||
indefinite | m./f. sing. | single | ||
n. sing. | single | |||
plural | single | |||
definite | single | |||
partitive | singles |
Finnish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
single
- single (45 rpm record; track nominally released on its own)
Declension
Inflection of single (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | single | singlet | |
genitive | singlen | singlejen | |
partitive | singleä | singlejä | |
illative | singleen | singleihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | single | singlet | |
accusative | nom. | single | singlet |
gen. | singlen | ||
genitive | singlen | singlejen singlein rare | |
partitive | singleä | singlejä | |
inessive | singlessä | singleissä | |
elative | singlestä | singleistä | |
illative | singleen | singleihin | |
adessive | singlellä | singleillä | |
ablative | singleltä | singleiltä | |
allative | singlelle | singleille | |
essive | singlenä | singleinä | |
translative | singleksi | singleiksi | |
abessive | singlettä | singleittä | |
instructive | — | singlein | |
comitative | See the possessive forms below. |
See also
French
Noun
single m (plural singles)
Further reading
- “single”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
single m or f by sense (invariable)
Adjective
single (invariable)
References
- ^ single in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
Borrowed from English single and singles.
Adjective
single
Noun
single m (definite singular singlen, indefinite plural singler, definite plural singlene)
- (music) a single (record or CD)
- Synonym: singelplate
- (sports) singles (e.g. in tennis)
References
- “single” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Etymology 2
From singel.
Verb
single (imperative single, present tense singler, simple past and past participle singla or singlet)
- to sprinkle or scatter shingle
References
- “single” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from English single and singles.
Noun
single m (definite singular singlen, indefinite plural singlar, definite plural singlane)
Synonyms
- singelplate (record)
References
- “single” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English single.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Brazil" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈsĩ.ɡow/
Noun
single m (plural singles)
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English single. Doublet of singur.
Noun
single n (plural single-uri)
- single (album)
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) single | singleul | (niște) single-uri | single-urile |
genitive/dative | (unui) single | singleului | (unor) single-uri | single-urilor |
vocative | singleule | single-urilor |
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English single. Doublet of sendos.
Pronunciation
Noun
single m (plural singles)
- single (song released)
Noun
single m or f (plural singles)
- single, single person
Verb
single
- inflection of singlar:
Further reading
- “single”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Turkish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English single.
Pronunciation
Noun
single (definite accusative singleı, plural singlelar)
Declension
Inflection | ||
---|---|---|
Nominative | single | |
Definite accusative | singleı | |
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | single | singlelar |
Definite accusative | singleı | singleları |
Dative | singlea | singlelara |
Locative | singleda | singlelarda |
Ablative | singledan | singlelardan |
Genitive | singleın | singleların |
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪŋɡəl
- Rhymes:English/ɪŋɡəl/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Botany
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Music
- en:Cricket
- en:Baseball
- en:Dominoes
- American English
- English informal terms
- British English
- en:Canadian football
- en:Tennis
- Scottish English
- English dialectal terms
- en:Computing
- en:Programming
- en:Film
- English verbs
- en:Agriculture
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- English transitive verbs
- en:One
- en:People
- Alemannic German terms borrowed from English
- Alemannic German unadapted borrowings from English
- Alemannic German terms derived from English
- Alemannic German lemmas
- Alemannic German adjectives
- gsw:Love
- Catalan terms borrowed from English
- Catalan terms derived from English
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- ca:Music
- Dutch terms borrowed from English
- Dutch terms derived from English
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch adjectives
- Finnish terms borrowed from English
- Finnish terms derived from English
- Finnish 2-syllable words
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Finnish/iŋle
- Rhymes:Finnish/iŋle/2 syllables
- Finnish lemmas
- Finnish nouns
- Finnish nalle-type nominals
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Music
- Italian terms borrowed from English
- Italian terms derived from English
- Italian 2-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/inɡol
- Rhymes:Italian/inɡol/2 syllables
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian indeclinable nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian masculine nouns
- Italian feminine nouns
- Italian nouns with multiple genders
- Italian masculine and feminine nouns by sense
- Italian adjectives
- Italian indeclinable adjectives
- Norwegian Bokmål terms borrowed from English
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from English
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål adjectives
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- nb:Music
- nb:Sports
- Norwegian Bokmål verbs
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms borrowed from English
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from English
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- nn:Music
- nn:Sports
- Portuguese terms borrowed from English
- Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English
- Portuguese terms derived from English
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- pt:Music
- Romanian terms borrowed from English
- Romanian unadapted borrowings from English
- Romanian terms derived from English
- Romanian doublets
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- Spanish terms borrowed from English
- Spanish unadapted borrowings from English
- Spanish terms derived from English
- Spanish doublets
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- Spanish nouns with multiple genders
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Turkish terms borrowed from English
- Turkish unadapted borrowings from English
- Turkish terms derived from English
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish nouns
- tr:Music