- single
-
I. adjective
Etymology: Middle English sengle, from Anglo-French, from Latin singulus one only; akin to Latin sem- one — more at same
Date: 14th century
1.
a. not married
b. of or relating to celibacy
2. unaccompanied by others ; lone, sole <the single survivor of the disaster> 3. a. (1) consisting of or having only one part, feature, or portion <single consonants> (2) consisting of one as opposed to or in contrast with many ; uniform <a single standard for men and women> (3) consisting of only one in number <holds to a single ideal> b. having but one whorl of petals or ray flowers <a single rose> 4. a. consisting of a separate unique whole ; individual <every single citizen> b. of, relating to, or involving only one person 5. a. frank, honest <a single devotion> b. exclusively attentive <an eye single to the truth> 6. unbroken, undivided 7. having no equal or like ; singular 8. designed for the use of one person only <a single room> <a single bed> II. noun Date: 1604 1. a. a separate individual person or thing b. an unmarried person and especially one young and socially active — usually used in plural c. (1) a recording having one short tune on each side (2) a music recording having two or more tracks that is shorter than a full-length album; also a song that is particularly popular independent of other songs on the same album or by the same artist 2. a base hit that allows the batter to reach first base 3. a. plural a tennis match or similar game with one player on each side b. a golf match between two players — usually used in plural 4. a room (as in a hotel) for one guest — compare double 7 III. verb (singled; singling) Date: 1628 transitive verb 1. to select or distinguish from a number or group — usually used with out 2. a. to advance or score (a base runner) by a single b. to bring about the scoring of (a run) by a single intransitive verb to make a single in baseball
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
