shingle

I. noun Etymology: Middle English schingel, alteration of Old English scindel, from Medieval Latin scindula, alteration of Latin scandula Date: 13th century 1. a small thin piece of building material often with one end thicker than the other for laying in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of a building 2. a small signboard especially designating a professional office — used chiefly in the phrase hang out one's shingle 3. a woman's haircut with the hair trimmed short from the back of the head to the nape II. transitive verb (shingled; shingling) Date: 1562 1. to cover with or as if with shingles 2. to bob and shape (the hair) in a shingle 3. to lay out or arrange so as to overlap • shingler noun III. noun Etymology: Middle English chyngell; akin to Middle Low German singel seashore gravel Date: 15th century 1. coarse rounded detritus or alluvial material especially on the seashore that differs from ordinary gravel only in the larger size of the stones 2. a place strewn with shingle • shingly adjective