singular, a., adv., and n.
(ˈsɪŋgjʊlə(r))
Forms: α. 4–6 synguler, 4–5 -ere; 4–7 singuler, 4–5 -ere, 4–6 -ier, 5 -eer; 5 senguler(e. β. 4–6 syngular, 6 (chiefly Sc.) singulair, 6–7 -are; 5– singular.
[a. OF. singuler, -eir, -ier, and singulaire, or ad. L. singulāris, f. singulī single a. The form with -er from OF. continued in use till the 17th cent.]
A. adj. I. 1. † a. Living alone or apart from the herd.
Only as an inaccurate rendering of L. singularis ferus in Ps. lxx[i]x. 14, where singularis is the n. (see sanglier).
| c 1340 Hampole Ps. lxxix. 14 Þe bare of þe wod out⁓termyd it; and þe syngulere wildbest has etyn it. 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxix. 14 The bor of the wode outlawide it; and the singuler wilde beste destroȝide it. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxiii. 942 Hegge þou a-boute vr vyn-ȝard,..Þat woodnes us hurte ne make aferd Of þe wylde best singulere. 1609 Bible (Douay) Ps. lxxix. 14 The singular wilde beest hath eaten it. |
b. Alone; away from others; solitary. rare.
| 1382 Wyclif Mark iv. 10 And whenne he was singuler, or by hym silf, the twelue..axiden hym for to expowne the parable. 1728 Veneer Sincere Penitent Pref. p. xi, His way of living was singular and retired. 1787 W. H. Marshall E. Norfolk (1795) II. 388 Singular, lone or single, as a singular house, or farm. |
2. a. One only; one and no more; single.
In quot. 1377 prob. with allusion to sense 3 a.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ix. 35 He was synguler hym-self and seyde faciamus. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶14 Þe repentaunce of a singuler synne & nouȝt repente of alle his oþer synnes..may nouȝt auaile. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 221 This geaunte yssued oute of the towne, and demaunded synguler persone ayenst a persone. a 1500–20 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) App. iv. 8 Thocht sevin ȝeir I war avysit..Ane singulare thing to put in dyte; It suld with sum men be dispysit. 1576 Newton Lemnie's Complex. (1633) 22 Thus the soule, although it be singular,..yet bringeth forth sundry and manifold actions. 1625 Bp. R. Montagu App. Cæsar 147 Some of the antient Fathers..apply it unto one singular individuall man onely, and no otherwise. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xxi. lvi, Knit up in a most mysterious Knot Of simple singular Triplicity. 1765–8 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. vii. §1 He succeeds to that subject by a singular title. |
† b. Exclusive; sole. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 342 Oon mai seie þat he aloone is Cristis viker here in erþe, and he haþ power singuler to taxe gracis as him likiþ. 1395 Purvey Remonstr. (1851) 68 What auctorite is to the bisshop of Rome to appropre to hymsilf principal power, eithir singuler, of byndinge and assoilinge. 1528 Roy Rede me (Arb.) 34 The masse was only oure singuler suffrage To delivre the people from their synne. 1592 Harvey Foure Lett. iv. Wks. (Grosart) I. 228 The singular marke, whereat euery Arte & euery vertue is to leuell. |
c. Forming the only one of the kind; unique, solitary, single. Also (with the), sole, only.
| a 1555 Latimer Serm. & Rem. (Parker Soc.) 101 Now I will shew you what man is..; but I will not speak of that singular Son of man, which was Christ. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 215 The Copy being singular, and none extant any where else. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 21 The arch whereof is..almost singular in its kind and architecture. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 2 He was the singular instance in Scotland. 1756 Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 241 A laudable example this, and I hope not singular one. 1788 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 156 This is perhaps a singular instance in the history of mankind. 1881 Westcott & Hort Grk. N.T. Introd. §308 Singular readings, as they are usually called, which have no other direct attestation whatever. 1897 Daily News 28 Aug. 4/5 But the Reign of Terror is a singular event, and the Commune of 1871..is no parallel whatever. |
† d. Of practice: Confined to one object. Obs.—1
| 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. iv. 55 Singular practise the only singuler, and admirable woorkeman of the world. |
3. a. Gram. Denoting or expressing one person or thing. Chiefly in singular number (also used fig.). Opposed to plural a. 1.
L. singularis appears in this sense from the time of Varro onwards.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 17 Everiche in þe singuler nombre was i-cleped Anthiochus. 14.. Crowned King (Skeat) 46 To shewe you my sentence in singuler noumbre; To peynte it with pluralitee my prose wolde faile. 1530 Palsgr. Introd. p. xxvi, Theyr synguler nombre hath a great meyny of dyvers terminations. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 21 b, They simply vsed the singular name of God as if they were contented with one God alone. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict. B 3, There are two numbers, the singular speaking of one, the plurall of moe. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Que, An interrogatiue of the Singular Number. a 1708 Beveridge Thes. Theol. (1711) I. 258 Why, I believe, in the singular number? 1818 Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. I. 64/1 (1845) We call ‘I love’ singular, and ‘we love’ plural. 1872 Morris Eng. Accidence 99 Alms, eaves, riches, though treated as plurals, are singular in form. Ibid. 100 Summons is a singular form..and is usually treated as such, making the pl. summonses. |
b. Logic. (See quots.)
After various uses of L. singularis in scholastic logic: cf. the note to B. 1 d.
| 1654 Z. Coke Logick 200 A singular accident is [that] which cleaves to a singular substance. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius' Logic ii. viii. 32 Singular syllogisms depend upon this maxim, whatever things agree in one single third, those also agree amongst themselves. 1724 Watts Logic i. iii. §3 That idea which represents one particular determinate thing to me, is called a singular idea. 1846 Mill Logic i. ii. §3 An individual or singular name is a name which is only capable of being truly affirmed, in the same sense, of one thing. Ibid. iv. §4 The proposition is singular when the subject is an individual name. 1855 Abp. Thomson Laws Th. §74 A judgment about an intuition, as ‘Northumberland House is near Charing Cross’, is a Singular judgment. 1870 Jevons Elem. Logic iii. (1875) 18 A singular term is one which can denote only a single object. |
c. Math. (See quots.) singular matrix (see quots. 1964, 1972); singular solution, a solution of a differential equation that cannot be obtained directly from the complete primitive; esp. a solution whose graph is the envelope of the graphs of the complete primitive.
| 1836 A. de Morgan Differential & Integral Calculus xi. 191 If there be a singular solution it is y = a... We have only found the singular solution from the primitive itself. 1845 ― in Encycl. Metrop. II. 370/1 There is..what we may call a singular solution for every particular form of θ, which deserves the attention of mathematicians. 1859 G. Salmon Less. Introd. Higher Algebra 45 We shall call those values which make all the differentials vanish, the singular roots of the quantic. 1867 Brande & Cox Dict. Sci., etc. III. 461/2 A singular solution of a differential equation..is a function of x and y [etc.]. Ibid. 462/1 The discovery of such solutions depends upon that of singular integrals of the differential equation under consideration. 1869 Cayley Math. Papers VII. 244 Certain forms of the singular curve. 1873 ― in Messenger of Math. II. 12, I consider the singular solution to be that given by the equation which belongs to the envelope-locus (viz. I do not recognise any singular solution which is not of the envelope species). 1886 ― Math. Papers XII. 395 The point x = a is in this case said to be a singular point in regard to the differential equation. 1957 L. Fox Two-Point Boundary Probl. i. 2 The most general solution of an ordinary differential equation of order n contains n arbitrary constants. This general solution is called the Complete Primitive, and a Particular Integral is obtained by giving specific values to these arbitrary constants. Non-linear equations may also have singular solutions, not obtainable from the complete primitive. 1964 N. N. Hancock Matrix Anal. Electr. Machinery ii. 18 A ‘singular’ matrix is one for which the determinant formed by the same array is of zero value. 1972 A. G. Howson Handbk. Terms Algebra & Anal. viii. 43 If there is no matrix B..such that AB = BA = I, then A is said to be singular. |
4. Of persons: † a. Holding no office; having no special position; private. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶40 (Cambr. MS.), Ryȝt as a senguler persone synnyth in takynge vengeaunce of a-nothir man, righ[t] so synnyth the Iuge ȝif he do no vengeaunce. c 1400 Brut ccx. 242 Þat fro þis day afterward ȝe shulle nouȝt be cleymede Kyng,..but..shul bene holde a singuler man of all þe peple. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, As moche as is in me, I forbede all syngular persones from the studyenge of this treatyse. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 79 You would not haue anie priuate or singuler man of what degree soeuer, to haue the patronage..of anie ecclesiastical liuing. |
b. singular successor, in Scots Law, one who acquires feudal property by a single title (usually that of purchase) as distinguished from an heir, who succeeds by a general or universal title.
| c 1630 Sir T. Hope Minor Practicks (1726) 138 The Assignation will not be valid against a singular Successor who acquires a real..Right with the Liferent. 1747 Act 20 Geo. II, c. 50 §12 The Methods of procuring Entry by Heirs, or Singular Successors, or Purchasers of lands in Scotland. 1797 Home & Kames Decis. Crt. Session IV. 69 It was a fixed point, that general burdens are ineffectual against creditors and singular successors. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 957 He holds them as his inherent right,..of which he cannot be deprived..by the right of the vassal's heir or singular successor. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Aug. 4/1 It is a quibble of the worst kind..first to tax them as singular successors and then to tax the heir when he succeeds to the family property. |
† 5. Of a fight or combat: = single a. 15. Obs.
From the 16th cent. chiefly in Sc. use.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Sam. xvii. 8 Chesith of ȝou a man, and come he doun to a synguler strijf. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 331 Lucius Mallius callede a Frensche man to a singuler bataile. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 65 b/2 They shold chese a man to fight a synguler batail ayenst golyas. 1567 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 525 He had cowartlie refusit singular combat bayth of a Barroun and Gentilman undefamit. 1606 L. Bryskett Civ. Life 66 The singular fights or combats..happened evermore betweene enemies of contrary nations. 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xii. §2 Wherein singular Combats are discharged, there is an exception made of such as are fought with His Highness licence. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 22 Of old, the Party accused had his Election, whether to vindicate himself, by singular Combat, or be tried by an Inquest. 1826 Scott Woodst. xiv, Those in his high place fight no singular combats. |
† 6. Single in form or dimensions. Obs.—1
| 1452 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 282, iij sengulere Principalls..in Scantlyon accordyng to the Principalls. |
II. † 7. a. Separate, individual, single. Obs.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7457 Þan bihoves þam,..For ilka syn þat þai dyd here, Have certayne payne singulere. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. vi. (Skeat) l. 59 Right as everich hath thus singuler instrumentes by hemselfe, they han as wel dyvers aptes and dyvers maner usinges. 1414 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 58/2 To be bounde to hem, and to othere persones,..in singuler obligacions. c 1430 Lydg. Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 63 In whiche psalmes..in synguler lettris fyve, This blessid name Maria, there may he see. 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 5 It is tyme we approche to the singular description of Bones. 1592 tr. Junius on Rev. i. 4 This is the particular or singular inscription. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World iii. (1634) 127 He equalled all others in the seuerall vertues, which in each of them were singular. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xxviii. 68 The confusion and rupture as it were, of the singular determinate parts. 1701 Swift Contests Nobles & Commons v, That because Clodius and Curio happen to agree with me in a few singular notions, I must therefore blindly follow them in all. 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. 135 Common Remarks for certain singular Cases relating to the Pruning of all manner of Trees. |
† b. Esp. in singular man or singular person. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 442 Þe generalte of þis preyere lettes not oure Lord God to here syngulere personys, aftur þei ben worþi. c 1450 Pecock Bk. Faith i. vii. (1909) 89 Every singuler persoone of the same chirche. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 244 Lyke as one man is kynde of all synguler men, and in euery synguler man is y⊇ kynde of all mankynde. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxii. 260 Our subiectes, comons, colleges, vniuersities, or syngular personnes, what someuer they be. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 243 Not..for conseruation of the life of the indiuiduum or singular man, but for propagation of the whole species. 1642 Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 93 The succession therefore..was made by singular persons, not by a Colledge. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 II. 85 Thus doth humane nature, being in each singular man, shew the existence of..its original author and pattern. |
c. In phr. all and singular, every one. Also rarely each and singular. Now arch.
| (a) 1472 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 17 To..fulfille all & singuler my willes & ordenaunces herevnder wreten. 1546–7 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 248 All and singuler thos my landes. 1583 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 360–1 Summa Totallis of..all & singuler the paimentes. 1656 Sanderson Serm. (1689) 20 All and singular the 39 Articles. 1739 Col. Rec. Pennsylvania IV. 346 Inviolably observed in all and singular the parts thereof. 1781 Articles of Confederation U.S. §13 Each and every of the said Articles.., and all and singular the matters..therein contained. 1838 in W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 558 All and singular the felonies,..and all and singular other the premises. |
| (b) 1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 42 §1 The tenthe of all and singuler dignyties. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering of Deacons, All and synguler actes and Statutes. 1838 in W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 558 The truth..of all and singular articles and circumstances. |
| (c) 1667 Dryden Maiden Q. i. i, With both of 'em; with each and singular of 'em. 1843 Geo. Eliot in Cross Life (1885) I. 123 To say to all and singular, ‘Swallow my opinions and you shall be whole’. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xiv. 152 The common concordant and unanimous consent of all and singular. |
† 8. a. Of or pertaining to, connected with or affecting, the individual, in contrast to what is common or general; personal, private, one's own.
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 5 When I had takene my syngulere purpos and lefte þe seculere habyte. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 509 Alle persones of what kynne privat sectis, or singuler religioun. c 1380 ― Wks. (1880) 82 To seie þe pater noster þat crist made hym self, & not..singuler preieres made of vs self. c 1400 Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 60 And for they wolde no singuler prerogatif thei kepten the comoun lawe as othere. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 7 The duc off Burgoyn..slow many thowsands..to revenge a synguler querel. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 33 Of lyberte, wyll, & synguler pleasure,..poore people they devour. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 92 b, Not accordyng to the proportion of that singular righteousnesse whiche is of ourselves, and peculiar to every of us. 1651 Biggs New Disp. 18 Many truths, now of reverend esteem and credit, had their birth and beginning once from singular and private thoughts. 1692 R. L'Estrange Josephus, Antiq. iv. vi. (1733) 87 Yours is a singular God, that's only to your selves. |
† b. esp. Of profit, advantage, gain, etc. Obs.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 310 That shal be take for delyte, Loo, or for synguler profite. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 152 Anon for singulier beyete Drouh every man to his partie. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 132 Sum Pryncis ther bene, that for thar owyn Synguler auauntage..takyn atte har talent trew men goodis. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 95 For they entende to theyr synguler wele and prouffyt and not to the comyn. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 257 b, One that preferred the dignitee..of the commenweale, before his owne singulare avauntage. 1581 W. Stafford Exam. Compl. ii. (1876) 61 For a time they gat much, and so abased the credite of theyr Predecessors to theyr singuler Luker. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Pol. Touchstone (1674) 280 The Spaniards (whose proper nature it is, to reap singular profit from the fear in which they..have put..neighbouring Princes). |
† c. Special; peculiar to one. Obs. rare.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxiii. 31 And to ȝour schervand singulair, Welcum, my awin Lord Thesaurair. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 2 The excellent effects of our peculiar and singular weapon the Long Bowe. c 1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 266 Common Law which is singular to our nation. |
III. † 9. a. Separate from others by reason of superiority or pre-eminence. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 283 So syngulere by hym-self as to syȝte of þe poeple, Was none suche as hym-self. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 172 Twa knyghtes hym servede, Singulere sothely, as Arthure hym selvyne. 1613 Day Dyall ix. (1614) 234 Are we not bound to keep it [the Sabbath] singular and inviolable. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. ii. v. (1636) 31 Lucifer, that would have beene singular, and alone above all his fellow Angels. |
† b. Of persons: Eminent, distinguished, notable.
| 1497 Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. i. 1 A suppreme & a synguler mayster to teche you al thynge. 1554 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1822) III. App. xx. 58 If..ye neglect so singular a pilot in such a tempest of affairs. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 1 Common places..gathered out of the workes of diuers singular Writers. 1606 Chapman Mons. D'Olive i. i, Her behaviour to it Is like a singular musitian To a sweete instrument. 1647 Lilly Chr. Astrol. clxvi. 710 A late Minister of the Church of England, and a Singular Astrologian. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 817 A great Linguist, a singular Grecian, and an exact Philologer. |
† c. Used in forms of address, esp. to a person of title. Obs. (Common in the 16th c.)
In later use only with good: cf. 14.
| c 1450 Holland Howlat 483 My singuler souerane, of Saxonis the wand! 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 3 To satysfye..my good synguler lordes..I haue enprysed..to reduce this..book in to our englysshe. a 1555 Latimer Serm. & Rem. (Parker Soc.) 367 To the right honourable master, secretary to the king's grace, his singular good master. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 19 To the right Worshipfull and my singular good Lady Mother. 1616 W. Haig Let. in J. Russell Haigs (1881) vii. 155 To the Right Honourable my singular good Lords, the Earl of Dunfermline [etc.]. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients Ded. A 2, The Countesse of Arundell and Surrey, my singular good Ladie and Mistresse. |
† d. Specially active in, or good at, something.
| 1606 in Lismore Papers Ser. ii. (1887) I. 98 The humble affection we have to be singulare in your service. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iv. ii. 183 With Pathetick expressions, which he was singular at, the Manchegan could not choose but melt into pity. |
10. Above the ordinary in amount, extent, worth, or value; especially good or great; special, particular. Common from c 1500 to c 1650; now rare. a. Of immaterial things, qualities, etc.
| α a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxix. 14 Þe deuel..is þe wild best þat is of syngulere creulte. Ibid. p. 523 This blessid mayden..in synguler ioy..was glad in cryst. 1424 Hen. VI in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 99 The singulier diligence and the ful notable service that ye doon unto us. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 1 To gyue therfore synguler louynges and thankes. 1566 Pasquine in Traunce 110 The same is a singuler token and most plaine demonstration of his worde. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. ii. 1 b, My Lady of Aramount of most feruent desire and singuler affection was attending her husbande. |
| β c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xvii. (1885) 152 And so þe kynge shall lese the offices, as ffor any syngular service he shall haue ffor hem. 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 291 She was also of singular easynes to be spoken vnto. 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love A ij b, An euident declaration of the singular good will..of God towardes his creatures. 1612 Brinsley Pos. Parts (1669) p. v, I find a singular benefit hereby in causing all my lowest to stand or sit together. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxviii. 164 Offices, or any other singular marke of the Soveraigns favour. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 277 To our singular satisfaction we found the water..ran..eastward. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, x. III. 219 For this, too, he found an expedient with singular art and felicity. 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. §28. 104 The instance..is of singular significance in this matter. 1847 Helps Friends in C. i. iv. 56 A theory that has done singular mischief to the cause of recreation. |
† b. Of remedies, medicines, etc.: Excellent; highly efficacious or beneficial. In predicative use freq. const. against or for. Obs.
| (a) a 1340 Hampole Psalter xvii. 7 My lord; þat is remedy syngulere amange anguysses of þis warld. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. lxxiii. (1495) 904 Butter taken in to the body is a synguler helpe ayenst venym. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 152 A syngular remedy for the sklendurnes of our polytyke body. 1615 Markham Country Contentm. i. xvii, Cast out all the mud and filth, which is a singular compost for Land, upon the bank. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden lvii, It is a singular drink for the falling sicknesse. 1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 245/1 It is a singular Thing against a Gonorrhæa. |
| (b) 1578 Lyte Dodoens 55 Pimpernell..is singuler against the bytings of venemouse beasts. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme i. xii. 70 In the paine of the hemorrhoides there is nothing more singular then the perfume made of shauings of iuorie. 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 174 It [i.e. honey] is singular for gout and for the cure of all wounds. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 4 It is singular for the Stone. |
† c. Of persons. (Cf. 9 b.) Obs.
| 1485 Caxton Paris & V. (1868) 54 Dere and specyal brother and synguler frende. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. vii. §4 Six princes, all learned, or singular favourers and advancers of learning. 1654 tr. Martini's Conq. China 132 One only City.., whose President was..my very singular friend. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art of Convers. 6 A most able Physician and singular Friend. |
11. Remarkable; extraordinary, unusual, uncommon. Hence, rare, precious.
A common sense of singularis in classical Latin.
| c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) v. v. (1859) 76 There I sawe a merueylous cerkle, of syngulere gretnesse. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. vi. (1883) 133 Boece whiche was..tresor of rychesses, singuler house of sapience. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, I sholde haue a synguler iewell to bere in my bosom. 1585 T. Washington Nicholay's Voy. iv. vi. 117 [They] are much giuen to..vsing singular perfumes. 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. 54, I could not chuse but say, it was the singularest, and superlative piece that hath been extant since the Creation. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 5 A great Philosopher,..famous far and near, As one of singular Invention. 1766 Porny Elem. Heraldry v. (1777) 140 Had it not been for the singular conduct of this brave person, the King had then remained a prisoner. 1779 Mirror No. 62, This was a proof of his good-nature, as well as of his singular presence of mind in critical situations. 1812 Woodhouse Astron. xiii. 135 One or two theorems of singular geometrical elegance and beauty. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. i. i. 30 The Romans..admired the singular quality and workmanship of the wooden columns. 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. i. 9 To refuse to do so would be to decline the use of..a singular gift of Providence. |
† 12. Differing from others in opinion; standing alone; peculiar in this respect. Obs.
| 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 152 Iarhi, you confesse, was of another minde; and thinke you, that Iarhi was therein singular from all the old Iewes? 1653 Walton Angler i. v, Lest you will think him singular in this opinion, I will tell you, this seems to be believed by our learned Doctor Hakewill. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 425 The Vulgar thus through Imitation err; As oft the Learn'd by being singular. 1754 Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 II. 343, I find the author has been led..to the same strange conclusion..in which I feared I should for some time have been singular. 1791 Boswell Johnson Feb. 1766, Sir, he must be very singular in his opinion, if he thinks himself one of the best of men. |
13. Different from or not complying with that which is customary, usual, or general; strange, odd, peculiar.
| a 1684 Leighton Wks. (1835) I. 119 It is no Wonder that the Godly are by some called Singular and Precise. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 27 Apr. 1667, Suitable to her extravagant humour and dresse, which was very singular. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 341 Its manner of procuring its prey, is one of the most singular in all natural history. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxiv, In one of my excursions..I overheard a singular conversation. 1824 Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1846 II. 155 He was called strange and singular long before he was acknowledged to be great. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 55, I clambered up among these singular terraces. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost vii. 189 Those who make themselves singular in their dress and manners are seldom free from vanity. |
† 14. quasi-adv. Singularly, especially, particularly. Obs. (Cf. 9 c.)
| 1530 Palsgr. 270/2 Synguler pure thyng, chose deslite. 1548–9 Bk. Com. Prayer, Offices (Mar.) 23 That shall be to hym a singuler great coumforte. 1581 W. Stafford Exam. Compl. iii. (1876) 90 When a singuler good workeman in any mistery comes. a 1604 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1809) 123 Hee proved a singular learned man. Ibid. 318 The Realme of Ireland at this time was singular well governed. 1693 Congreve Old Bach. i. iv, A singular good principle. |
15. Comb., as singular-looking, singular-minded, singular-witted adjs.
| 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God viii. xii. 302 He was an admirable, singular witted man, inferior to none. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxiii, This wild and singular-looking woman. 1831 ― Ct. Rob. vii, The survivors of these singular-minded men. 1878 Smiles Robt. Dick iii, [He] took up a singular-looking nut. |
B. n.
1. a. A single person; an individual. Now rare.
| 1420 in Rymer Foedera (1710) IX. 917 Tounes, Comunaltees and Singulers. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Thess. 14 So deare a singular, and so necessarie a companion. 1619 W. Sclater Exp. 1 Thess. (1630) 15 Of Singulars, all we haue, is a probable conjecture. a 1637 B. Jonson Timber Wks. (Rtldg.) 756/1 Eloquence would be but a poor thing, if we should only converse with singulars; speak with man and man together. 1854 S. Dobell Balder xxiv. 158 This..I give To thee, and am no poorer; no, nor thou.., nor a singular of all Who ever shall possess it. |
b. A single thing; a single point or detail.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 700 All compound thinges are of greater force then Singulares. 1620 E. Blount Horæ Subs. 204 As for Epitomes..for one that meanes to goe through all the singulars; they seeme quite vnnecessary. a 1711 Ken Hymnarium Poet. Wks. 1721 II. 121 The whole Creation heedfully survey, Each Singular minutely weigh. |
c. Contrasted with a class or species.
| 1640 Canterburians Self-Conviction Postscr. 1 To make them but two singulars under one spece. 1642 H. More Song of Soul ii. ii. iii. xxvi, She..Calls kinds immortall, though their singulars do waste. 1661 Glanvill Van. Dogm. 124 Every man..owns something, wherein none are like him: and these are as many, as humane nature hath singulars. 1832 Austin Jurispr. (1879) II. 1037 A species; that is to say, a class consisting exclusively of mere individuals or singulars. |
d. pl. Contrasted with universals.
The use of L. singulare, -aria, in contrast to universale, -alia, goes back to Boëthius.
| 1643 Digges Unl. Taking Arms ii. 46 This notion of universall speculatively distinguished from singulars. 1669 Gale Crt. Gentiles i. i. i. 4 His Universal Ideas..he makes to be the..great Exemplar and image of al singulars. 1690 C. Ness Hist. O. & N.T. I. 29 Adam wisely understood all simples, singulars and universals. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 15 Think you, that God's Providence is..employ'd about Universals?..But if God takes care of Singulars [etc.]. 1864 Bowen Logic vii. 180 Their Knowledge being confined, as we have seen, to Intuitions,—to Singulars. |
2. Gram. The singular number; a word in its singular form.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxxxiii. (Bodl. MS.), Porrum is hoc Porrum in þe singuler & hii porri in þe plurel. 1530 Palsgr. 127 Howe all maner participles forme theyr..plurel nombres out of theyr singulars. a 1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. xiii, The first [declension] maketh the plural of the singular, by adding thereunto s. 1751 Harris Hermes Wks. (1841) 162 The..imperative has no first person of the singular. 1799 Asiatic Researches II. 211 Their Feminine Singulars are used in the Persian as Participles. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 313/1 The aspirate has taken the place of the τ or σ in the nominative singular. 1872 Morris Eng. Accidence 99 The plurals of some substantives differ in meaning from the singulars. |
† 3. Personal or private profit or gain. Obs.—1
| 1419 in 26 Polit. Poems 71 For defaute of Iustice, and singulere to wynne, Þey were rebell. |
† 4. A single or ordinary rafter. Obs.
Cf. the mod. Somerset singler (Elworthy Word-bk. 671).
| 1452 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 282 Atte euery joynt of the Crest tre atte the Principalls and sengulers shalbe halff Angells. Also atte..euery end of the sengulers atte the Jowpye shalbe an Angel. |
† 5. = sanglier. Obs. rare.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans e iij, A Synguler is he so: for a lone he will goo. 1688 [see sanglier]. |