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.
No single man is born with a right of
controlling the opinions of all the rest.
Pope.
2. Alone; having no companion.
Who single hast maintained,
Against revolted multitudes, the cause
Of truth.
Milton.
3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man
or woman.
Grows, lives, and dies in single
blessedness.
Shak.
Single chose to live, and shunned to
wed.
Dryden.
4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined
with others; as, a single thread; a single strand of a
rope.
5. Performed by one person, or one on each
side; as, a single combat.
These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . .
Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
Milton.
6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single
to compound.
I. Watts.
7. Not deceitful or artful; honest;
sincere.
I speak it with a single heart.
Shak.
8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly.
[Obs.]
He utters such single matter in so infantly a
voice.
Beau. & Fl.
Single ale, beer, or
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.
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.
Dogs who hereby can single out their master in
the dark.
Bacon.
His blood! she faintly screamed her mind
Still singling one from all mankind.
More.
2. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
[Obs.]
An agent singling itself from
consorts.
Hooker.
3. To take alone, or one by one.
Men . . . commendable when they are
singled.
Hooker.
Sin"gle, v. i. To take the
irrregular gait called single-foot;- said of a horse. See Single-
foot.
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.
Sin"gle, n. 1. A
unit; one; as, to score a single.
2. pl. The reeled filaments of silk,
twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
3. A handful of gleaned grain. [Prov.
Eng. & Scot.]
4. (Law Tennis) A game with but one
player on each side; -- usually in the plural.
5. (Baseball) A hit by a batter which
enables him to reach first base only.
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.
No single man is born with a right of
controlling the opinions of all the rest.
Pope.
2. Alone; having no companion.
Who single hast maintained,
Against revolted multitudes, the cause
Of truth.
Milton.
3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man
or woman.
Grows, lives, and dies in single
blessedness.
Shak.
Single chose to live, and shunned to
wed.
Dryden.
4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined
with others; as, a single thread; a single strand of a
rope.
5. Performed by one person, or one on each
side; as, a single combat.
These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . .
Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
Milton.
6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single
to compound.
I. Watts.
7. Not deceitful or artful; honest;
sincere.
I speak it with a single heart.
Shak.
8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly.
[Obs.]
He utters such single matter in so infantly a
voice.
Beau. & Fl.
Single ale, beer, or
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.
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.
Dogs who hereby can single out their master in
the dark.
Bacon.
His blood! she faintly screamed her mind
Still singling one from all mankind.
More.
2. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
[Obs.]
An agent singling itself from
consorts.
Hooker.
3. To take alone, or one by one.
Men . . . commendable when they are
singled.
Hooker.
Sin"gle, v. i. To take the
irrregular gait called single-foot;- said of a horse. See Single-
foot.
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.
Sin"gle, n. 1. A
unit; one; as, to score a single.
2. pl. The reeled filaments of silk,
twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
3. A handful of gleaned grain. [Prov.
Eng. & Scot.]
4. (Law Tennis) A game with but one
player on each side; -- usually in the plural.
5. (Baseball) A hit by a batter which
enables him to reach first base only.
