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Webster 1913 Edition

Single

Sin′gle

,
Adj.
[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.
Shakespeare
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.
Shakespeare
8.
Simple; not wise; weak; silly.
[Obs.]
He utters such
single
matter in so infantly a voice.
Beau. & Fl.
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.

Sin′gle

,
Verb.
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

,
Verb.
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

,
Noun.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Single

SIN'GLE

,
Adj.
1.
Separate; one; only; individual; consisting of one only; as a single star; a single city; a single act.
2.
Particular; individual. No single man is born with a right of controlling the opinions of all the rest.
3.
Uncompounded. Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to compound.
4.
Alone; having no companion or assistant. Who single hast maintain'd against revolted multitudes the cause of truth.
5.
Unmarried; as a single man; a single woman.
6.
Not double; not complicated; as a single thread; a single strand of a rope.
7.
Performed with one person or antagonist on a side, or with one person only opposed to another; as a single fight; a single combat.
8.
Pure; simple; incorrupt; unbiased; having clear vision of divine truth. Matt. 6.
9.
Small; weak; silly
10.
In botany, a single flower is when there is only one on a stem, and in common usage, one not double.

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