extraordinary; remarkable; exceptional: a singular success.
2.
unusual or strange; odd; different: singular behavior.
3.
being the only one of its kind; distinctive; unique: a singular example.
4.
separate; individual.
5.
Grammar. noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number found in many languages that indicates that a word form has one referent or denotes one person, place, thing, or instance, as English boy and thing, which are singular nouns, or goes, a singular form of the verb go.Compare dual(def. 4), plural(def. 4).
6.
Logic.
a.
of or pertaining to something individual, specific, or not general.
b.
(of a proposition) containing no quantifiers, as “Socrates was mortal.”
7.
Mathematics.
a.
of or pertaining to a linear transformation from a vector space to itself that is not one-to-one.
b.
of or pertaining to a matrix having a determinant equal to zero.
c.1340, "alone, apart," from O.Fr. singuler "single, separate" (Fr. singulier), from L. singularis "single, solitary," from singulus (see single (adj.)). Meaning "remarkably good, unusual, rare" is from c.1400, though this was a common meaning of L. singularis.
unusual or striking; "a remarkable sight"; "such poise is singular in one so young" [syn: remarkable]
2.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected; "a curious hybrid accent"; "her speech has a funny twang"; "they have some funny ideas about war"; "had an odd name"; "the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves"; "something definitely queer about this town"; "what a rum fellow"; "singular behavior" [syn: curious]
3.
being a single and separate person or thing; "can the singular person be understood apart from his culture?"; "every fact in the world might be singular...unlike any other fact and sole of its kind"-William James
4.
composed of one member, set, or kind [ant: plural]
5.
grammatical number category referring to a single item or unit [ant: plural]
6.
the single one of its kind; "a singular example"; "the unique existing example of Donne's handwriting"; "a unique copy of an ancient manuscript"; "certain types of problems have unique solutions"
noun
1.
the form of a word that is used to denote a singleton [ant: plural]
(also adjective) (in) the form of a word which expresses only one Example: `Foot' is the singular of `feet'; a singular noun/verb; The noun `foot' is singular.
Arabic:
مُفْرَد
Chinese (Simplified):
单数（词）
Chinese (Traditional):
單數(詞)
Czech:
jednotné číslo
Danish:
ental
Dutch:
enkelvoud
Estonian:
ainsus, ainsuslik
Finnish:
yksikkö, yksiköllinen
French:
singulier
German:
der Singular; singularisch
Greek:
ενικός αριθμός (γραμμ.)
Hungarian:
egyes szám(ú)
Icelandic:
eintala
Indonesian:
bentuk tunggal
Italian:
singolare
Japanese:
単数
Korean:
단수형
Latvian:
vienskaitlis
Lithuanian:
vienaskaita
Norwegian:
entall, singularis; entalls-
Polish:
pojedynczy
Portuguese (Brazil):
singular
Portuguese (Portugal):
singular
Romanian:
singular
Russian:
единственное число
Slovak:
jednotné číslo
Slovenian:
ednina
Spanish:
singular
Swedish:
singular
Turkish:
tekil (hâl)
singular2[ˈsiŋgjulə]noun
the state of being singular Example: Is this noun in the singular or the plural?
In nouns, pronouns, and verbs, the grammatical form that refers to only one thing. In the following sentence, the singular words are italicized: “The police officer stops anyone who crosses before the light changes.” (Compareplural; seeagreement.)
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"gu*lar\, a. [OE. singuler, F. singulier, fr. L. singularius, singularis, fr. singulus single. See Single, a.]1. Separate or apart from others; single; distinct. [Obs.] --Bacon. And God forbid that all a company Should rue a singular man's folly. --Chaucer. 2. Engaged in by only one on a side; single. [Obs.] To try the matter thus together in a singular combat. --Holinshed. 3. (Logic) Existing by itself; single; individual. The idea which represents one . . . determinate thing, is called a singular idea, whether simple, complex, or compound. --I. Watts. 4. (Law) Each; individual; as, to convey several parcels of land, all and singular. 5. (Gram.) Denoting one person or thing; as, the singular number; -- opposed to dual and plural. 6. Standing by itself; out of the ordinary course; unusual; uncommon; strange; as, a singular phenomenon. So singular a sadness Must have a cause as strange as the effect. --Denham. 7. Distinguished as existing in a very high degree; rarely equaled; eminent; extraordinary; exceptional; as, a man of singular gravity or attainments. 8. Departing from general usage or expectations; odd; whimsical; -- often implying disapproval or consure. His zeal None seconded, as out of season judged, Or singular and rash. --Milton. To be singular in anything that is wise and worthy, is not a disparagement, but a praise. --Tillotson. 9. Being alone; belonging to, or being, that of which there is but one; unique. These busts of the emperors and empresses are all very scarce, and some of them almost singular in their kind. --Addison. Singular point in a curve (Math.), a point at which the curve possesses some peculiar properties not possessed by other points of the curve, as a cusp point, or a multiple point. Singular proposition (Logic), a proposition having as its subject a singular term, or a common term limited to an individual by means of a singular sign. --Whately. Singular succession (Civil Law), division among individual successors, as distinguished from universal succession, by which an estate descended in intestacy to the heirs in mass. Singular term (Logic), a term which represents or stands for a single individual. Syn: Unexampled; unprecedented; eminent; extraordinary; remarkable; uncommon; rare; unusual; peculiar; strange; odd; eccentric; fantastic.
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