Single \Sin"gle\, a. [L. singulus, a dim. from the root in
simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See
Simple, and cf. Singular.]
1. One only, as distinguished from more than one; consisting
of one alone; individual; separate; as, a single star.
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No single man is born with a right of controlling
the opinions of all the rest. --Pope.
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2. Alone; having no companion.
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Who single hast maintained,
Against revolted multitudes, the cause
Of truth. --Milton.
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3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man or woman.
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Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
--Shak.
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Single chose to live, and shunned to wed. --Dryden.
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4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined with others;
as, a single thread; a single strand of a rope.
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5. Performed by one person, or one on each side; as, a single
combat.
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These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . .
Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
--Milton.
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6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
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Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to
compound. --I. Watts.
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7. Not deceitful or artful; honest; sincere.
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I speak it with a single heart. --Shak.
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8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly. [Obs.]
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He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.
--Beau. & Fl.
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Single ale, Single beer, or Single drink, small ale,
etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is
stronger. [Obs.] --Nares.
Single bill (Law), a written engagement, generally under
seal, for the payment of money, without a penalty.
--Burril.
Single court (Lawn Tennis), a court laid out for only two
players.
Single-cut file. See the Note under 4th File.
Single entry. See under Bookkeeping.
Single file. See under 1st File.
Single flower (Bot.), a flower with but one set of petals,
as a wild rose.
Single knot. See Illust. under Knot.
Single whip (Naut.), a single rope running through a fixed
block.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Single \Sin"gle\, v. i.
To take the irrregular gait called single-foot; -- said of a
horse. See Single-foot.
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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. --W.
S. Clark.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Single \Sin"gle\, n.
1. A unit; one; as, to score a single.
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2. pl. The reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling
to give them firmness.
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3. A handful of gleaned grain. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
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4. (Law Tennis) A game with but one player on each side; --
usually in the plural.
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5. (Baseball) A hit by a batter which enables him to reach
first base only.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Single \Sin"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Singled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Singling.]
1. To select, as an individual person or thing, from among a
number; to choose out from others; to separate.
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Dogs who hereby can single out their master in the
dark. --Bacon.
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His blood! she faintly screamed her mind
Still singling one from all mankind. --More.
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2. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire. [Obs.]
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An agent singling itself from consorts. --Hooker.
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3. To take alone, or one by one.
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Men . . . commendable when they are singled.
--Hooker.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
single
adj 1: existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect
or individual; "upon the hill stood a single tower";
"had but a single thought which was to escape"; "a
single survivor"; "a single serving"; "a single lens";
"a single thickness" [syn: single(a)] [ant: multiple]
2: used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of
petals; "single chrysanthemums resemble daisies and may
have more than one row of petals" [ant: double]
3: not married or related to the unmarried state; "unmarried
men and women"; "unmarried life"; "sex and the single
girl"; "single parenthood"; "are you married or single?"
[syn: unmarried] [ant: married]
4: characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing; "an
individual serving"; "separate rooms"; "single occupancy";
"a single bed" [syn: individual, separate, single(a)]
5: having uniform application; "a single legal code for all"
[syn: single(a)]
6: not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object
or objective; "judging a contest with a single eye"; "a
single devotion to duty"; "undivided affection"; "gained
their exclusive attention" [syn: single(a), undivided,
exclusive]
7: involved two individuals; "single combat" [syn: single(a)]
8: individual and distinct; "pegged down each separate branch
to the earth"; "a gift for every single child" [syn: separate,
single(a)]
n 1: a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base
2: the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this
number; "he has the one but will need a two and three to
go with it"; "they had lunch at one" [syn: one, 1, I,
ace, unity]
v : hit a one-base hit
WordNet (r) 2.0
122 Moby Thesaurus words for "single":
a certain, an, any, any one, appropriate, article, atomic, austere,
bachelorlike, bare, basic, candid, celibataire, celibate,
characteristic, chaste, choose, cull, distinct, distinctive,
distinguish, distinguished, either, elementary, entity, especial,
essential, exclusive, fasten on, fix on, footloose and fancy-free,
free, fundamental, homely, homespun, homogeneous, husbandless,
idiocratic, idiosyncratic, in character, individual, indivisible,
integer, integral, intrinsic, irreducible, isolated, item, lone,
maiden, maidenly, marked, mere, misogamist, misogynist, module,
monadic, monastic, monistic, monk, monolithic, nun, of a piece,
old-maidish, one, only, open, particular, peculiar, person,
persona, pick, plain, point, priest, primal, primary, proper, pure,
pure and simple, quintessential, segregate, select, separate,
severe, simon-pure, simple, single out, singleton, singular, sole,
solid, solitary, soul, spare, special, specific, spinsterish,
spinsterlike, spinsterly, spouseless, stark, true to form,
unadorned, unanalyzable, unattached, uncluttered, undifferenced,
undifferentiated, undivided, unfettered, uniform, unique, unit,
unitary, unmarried, unshared, unwed, unwedded, virgin, virginal,
whole
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
SINGLE. By itself, unconnected.
2. A single bill is one without any condition, and does not depend upon
any future event to give it validity. Single is also applied to an unmarried
person; as, A B, single woman. Vide Simplex.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
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