single
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɪŋɡl̩/
ipa: /ˈsɪŋɡəl/
homophone: cingle
rhymes: -ɪŋɡəl
Forms: form: singles
form: singling
form: singled
form: singled
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.
Senses: examples: text: Pedro singled in the bottom of the eighth inning, which, if converted to a run, would put the team back into contention.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To get a hit that advances the batter exactly one base.
examples: text: Paul went joyfully, and spent the afternoon helping to hoe or to single turnips with his friend.
ref: 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 7, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
text: The seeds did not germinate in many parts of a row until rains in end of June and thunderplumps in first week of July brought them up later in patches, so that no second sowing was necessary, but singling was done by stages.
ref: 1916, Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, page 241:
topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
glosses: To thin out.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1860, William S. Clark, Massachusetts Agricultural College Annual Report:
glosses: To take the irregular gait called singlefoot.
raw_tags: of a horse
examples: text: an agent singling itself from consorts
ref: 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):
glosses: To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
examples: text: men […] commendable when they are singled
ref: 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):
glosses: To take alone, or one by one; to single out.
examples: text: 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; […]
ref: 1959 June, “Talking of Trains: North Eastern report”, in Trains Illustrated, page 293:
text: The Henley branch, recently singled and fully track-circuited, is worked by acceptance lever between Twyford and Shiplake cabins.
ref: 1962 October, “Talking of Trains: New signalbox at Twyford”, in Modern Railways, page 226:
text: 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.
ref: 2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in RAIL, number 918, page 48:
glosses: To reduce (a railway) to single track.
Derived terms: single out
Related terms: single
solo
double
twofold
triple
threefold
quadruple
fourfold
quintuple
pentuple
fivefold
loner
singleton
monad
pair
couple
twosome
duo
dyad
trio
threesome
triad
troika
foursome
quartet
tetrad
fivesome
quintet
pentad
only one
singlet
twin
one of two
doublet
triplet
one of three
quadruplet
one of four
quintuplet
pentuplet
one of five
sextuple
hextuple
sixfold
septuple
heptuple
sevenfold
octuple
eightfold
ninefold
nonuple
tenfold
decuple
sixsome
sextet
hexad
sevensome
septet
heptad
eightsome
octet
octad
ninesome
nonet
ennead
tensome
decet
decad
sextuplet
hextuplet
one of six
one of seven
septuplet
heptuplet
octuplet
one of eight
one of nine
nonuplet
one of ten
decuplet
elevenfold
undecuple
hendecuple
twelvefold
duodecuple
thirteenfold
tredecuple
a hundredfold
centuple
multiple
elevensome
twelvesome
thirteensome
hundredsome
one of eleven
undecuplet
hendecuplet
one of twelve
duodecuplet
one of thirteen
tredecuplet
one of a hundred
centuplet
one of many
multiplet