singer

See also: Singer

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English synger, syngere, singere, singare, equivalent to sing +‎ -er. Cognate with Scots singar (“singer”), Saterland Frisian Sjunger (“singer”), West Frisian sjonger (“singer”), German Low German Singer (“singer”). Compare also Old English sangere (“singer”), Dutch zanger (“singer”), German Low German Sänger (“singer”), German Sänger (“singer”), Danish sanger (“singer”), Swedish sångare (“singer”), Icelandic söngvari (“singer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋə/
• enPR: sĭng′ər IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋə(ɹ)

Noun

singer (plural singers)

1. A person who sings, often professionally.
2. (square dance) dance figure with a fixed structure, sung by a caller, or a piece of music with that structure. See square dance singer.

Derived terms

• carol singer
• opera singer
• singer-songwriter
• singeress

Related terms

• meistersinger
• mastersinger
• songster
• songstress

Translations

person who sings

• Afrikaans: sanger
• Albanian: këngëtar (sq) m
• Arabic: مُطْرِب m (muṭrib), مُغَنٍّ m (muḡannin) (indefinite), اَلْمُغَنِّي m (al-muḡannī) (definite)

  Egyptian Arabic: مغني m (moḡani)

• Armenian: երգիչ (hy) (ergičʻ)
• Aromanian: cãntãtor m
• Asturian: cantante m, cantor m
• Azerbaijani: müğənni (az)
• Bashkir: йырсы (yırsı); йырау (yıraw) (traditional), йыраусы (yırawsı)
• Basque: abeslari (eu), kantari
• Belarusian: спява́к m (spjavák)
• Bengali: গায়ক (gaẏok)
• Berber:

  Tashelhit: amarir m

• Breton: kaner (br) m
• Bulgarian: певе́ц m (pevéc)
• Burmese: တေးသံရှင် (my) (te:samhrang), အဆိုတော် (my) (a.hcuitau)
• Catalan: cantant (ca) m, cantor (ca) m, cantaire (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 歌手 (go¹ sau²)

  Dungan: чонҗязы (čonži͡azɨ), чонҗяр (čonži͡ar)

  Hakka: 歌手 (kô-sú)

  Mandarin: 歌手 (zh) (gēshǒu)

  Min Dong: 歌手 (gŏ̤-chiū)

  Min Nan: 歌手 (koa-chhiú / ko-chhiú)

  Wu: 歌手 (ku seu)

• Classical Syriac: ܙܡܪܐ (zammoro)
• Czech: zpěvák (cs) m
• Danish: sanger (da) c
• Dutch: zanger (nl) m
• Esperanto: kantanto, kantisto (professional)
• Estonian: laulja m, laulik m
• Faroese: sangari m
• Finnish: laulaja (fi)
• French: chanteur (fr) m
• Friulian: cjantautôr m, cjantôr m, cjantant
• Galician: cantante (gl) m, cantor m
• Georgian: მომღერალი (momɣerali)
• German: Sänger (de) m, Sängerchen n (diminutive), Sängerlein n (diminutive)
• Greek: τραγουδιστής (el) m (tragoudistís)
• Greenlandic: erinarsortartoq
• Hebrew: זמר \ זַמָּר (he) m (zamár)
• Hindi: गायक (hi) m (gāyak)
• Hungarian: énekes (hu) m
• Icelandic: söngvari (is) m
• Indonesian: penyanyi (id)
• Irish: amhránaí m, fonnadóir m
• Italian: cantante (it) m
• Japanese: 歌手 (ja) (かしゅ, kashu)
• Kazakh: әнші (kk) (änşı)
• Khakas: ырӌы (ırcı), сарынӌы (sarıncı)
• Khmer: អ្នកចំរៀង (nĕək cɑmriəng), អ្នកច្រៀង (nĕək criəng), គីតិកា (kiitekaa) (female)
• Korean: 가수 (ko) (gasu) (歌手 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kyrgyz: ырчы (ky) (ırcı), обончу (oboncu)
• Lao: ນັກຮ້ອງ (nak hǭng)
• Latin: cantor (la) m
• Latvian: dziedātājs m
• Lithuanian: dainininkas m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Singer m

• Macedonian: пејач m (pejač)
• Malay: penyanyi, biduan, vokalis, tukang nyanyi, pelagu
• Maori: kaiwaiata
• Middle English: synger
• Mongolian: дуучин (mn) (duučin)
• Nahuatl: cuicani (nah)
• Norman: chanteux m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sanger (no) m

  Nynorsk: songar m

• Occitan: cantaire (oc) m

  Old Occitan: chantador m

• Old English: sangere m
• Pashto: خواننده m or f (xānendá), سندربول m (sadǝrból), آوازخوان m (āwāzxwãn)
• Persian: خواننده (fa) (xânande)
• Polish: piosenkarz (pl) m, śpiewak (pl) m
• Portuguese: cantor (pt) m
• Romanian: cântăreț (ro) m
• Romansch: chantadur m
• Russian: певе́ц (ru) m (pevéc), вокали́ст (ru) m (vokalíst)
• Scottish Gaelic: seinneadair, òranaiche m, neach-seinn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: певач m

  Roman: pevač (sh) m

• Slovak: spevák m
• Slovene: pevec (sl) m
• Spanish: cantante (es) m, cantor m
• Swedish: sångare (sv) c
• Tachawit: acennay (shy)
• Tajik: сароянда (tg) (saroyanda), сурудхон (surudxon), ҳофиз (hofiz), муғаннӣ (muġannī), хонанда (tg) (xonanda)
• Taos: yò’óna
• Tatar: җырчы (tt) (cırçı)
• Telugu: పాటగాడు (pāṭagāḍu)
• Thai: นักร้อง (th) (nák-rɔ́ɔng)
• Turkish: şarkıcı (tr), şantör (tr) m
• Turkmen: aýdymçi, bagşy (tk)
• Tuvan: ыраажы (ıraajı)
• Ukrainian: співа́к m (spivák)
• Urdu: گایک m (gāyak)
• Uyghur: ناخشىچى (ug) (naxshichi)
• Uzbek: ashulachi (uz), qoʻshiqchi (uz), hofiz (uz)
• Vietnamese: ca sĩ (vi)
• Volapük: kanitan (vo)
• Walloon: tchanteu (wa) m
• Welsh: canwr m
• West Frisian: sjonger c
• Yakut: ырыаһыт (ırıahıt)
• Yiddish: זינגער m (zinger)

female person who sings

• Albanian: këngëtare (sq) f
• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: مغنية f (moġaneya)

• Armenian: երգչուհի (hy) (ergčʻuhi)
• Asturian: cantante f
• Belarusian: спява́чка f (spjaváčka)
• Breton: kanerez (br) f
• Bulgarian: певи́ца f (pevíca)
• Catalan: cantant (ca) f
• Czech: zpěvačka (cs) f
• Danish: sangerinde (da) c
• Dutch: zangeres (nl) f
• Esperanto: kantantino, kantistino (professional)
• Estonian: lauljanna f, lauljatar f
• Faroese: sangarinna f
• French: chanteuse (fr) f
• Galician: cantante (gl) f
• German: Sängerin (de) f
• Greek: τραγουδίστρια (el) f (tragoudístria)
• Hebrew: זמרת \ זַמֶּרֶת f (zaméret)
• Hindi: गायिका f (gāyikā)
• Hungarian: énekesnő (hu) f
• Icelandic: söngkona (is) f
• Italian: cantante (it) f
• Khmer: គីតិកា (kiitekaa)
• Latin: cantrīx (la) f
• Latvian: dziedātāja f
• Lithuanian: dainininkė f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Singerin f, Singersch f, Singersche f

• Macedonian: пејачка f (pejačka)
• Malay: biduanita
• Norman: chant'rêsse f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sangerinne (no) f

  Nynorsk: songarinne f

• Occitan: cantaira f
• Old English: sangestre f
• Polish: piosenkarka (pl) f, śpiewaczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: cantora (pt) f
• Romanian: cântăreață (ro) f
• Romansch: chantadura f
• Russian: певи́ца (ru) f (pevíca), вокали́стка (ru) f (vokalístka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: певачица f

  Roman: pevačica (sh) f

• Slovak: speváčka f
• Slovene: pevka f
• Spanish: cantante (es) f, cantora f
• Swedish: sångerska (sv) c
• Telugu: పాటగత్తె (pāṭagatte)
• Turkish: şantöz (tr) f
• Ukrainian: співа́чка f (spiváčka)
• Urdu: گایکا f (gāyikā)
• Volapük: jikanitan
• Walloon: tchanteuse (wa) f
• Welsh: cantores f
• West Frisian: sjongster c
• Yiddish: זינגערין f (zingerin)

dance figure

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} kantisto (io)
• Kurdish:
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Occitan: ^{(please verify)} cantaire (oc)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} cântăreață (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} cântăreț (ro) m

Etymology 2

From singe +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɪndʒə(ɹ)

Noun

singer (plural singers)

1. A person who, or device which, singes.
2. A machine for singeing cloth.

Translations

person or device that singes

• Italian: gazatrice f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• Greins, Negris, nigres, re-nigs, re-sign, reigns, renigs, resign, resing, ringes, signer

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French

Etymology

In at least the ape sense, from singe (“monkey”).

Verb

singer

1. to ape
2. to sprinkle with flour

Conjugation

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written singe- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

Conjugation of singer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	singer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	singeant /sɛ̃.ʒɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		singé /sɛ̃.ʒe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singes /sɛ̃ʒ/	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singeons /sɛ̃.ʒɔ̃/	singez /sɛ̃.ʒe/	singent /sɛ̃ʒ/
	imperfect	singeais /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singeais /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singeait /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singions /sɛ̃.ʒjɔ̃/	singiez /sɛ̃.ʒje/	singeaient /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/
	past historic2	singeai /sɛ̃.ʒe/	singeas /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singea /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singeâmes /sɛ̃.ʒam/	singeâtes /sɛ̃.ʒat/	singèrent /sɛ̃.ʒɛʁ/
	future	singerai /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁe/	singeras /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁa/	singera /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁa/	singerons /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/	singerez /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁe/	singeront /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	singerais /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerais /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerait /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerions /sɛ̃.ʒə.ʁjɔ̃/	singeriez /sɛ̃.ʒə.ʁje/	singeraient /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singes /sɛ̃ʒ/	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singions /sɛ̃.ʒjɔ̃/	singiez /sɛ̃.ʒje/	singent /sɛ̃ʒ/
	imperfect2	singeasse /sɛ̃.ʒas/	singeasses /sɛ̃.ʒas/	singeât /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singeassions /sɛ̃.ʒa.sjɔ̃/	singeassiez /sɛ̃.ʒa.sje/	singeassent /sɛ̃.ʒas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	—	singeons /sɛ̃.ʒɔ̃/	singez /sɛ̃.ʒe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “singer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• signer