† singletonn.1
Obsolete.
A coverlet of cloth of gold used in creating a Knight of the Bath. The quot. 1656 is translated from a French account of the ceremonies at the creation of Knights of the Bath, printed in N. Upton De Studio Milit., etc. (ed. Bysshe, 1654) 22.
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society > faith > artefacts > cloths, carpets, cushions > cloth (general) > used in creating a Knight of the Bath > [noun]
singleton1656
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > raising to noble rank > [noun] > investing with a rank or title > conferring of knighthood > cloth used in creating Knight of the Bath
singleton1656
1656 W. Dugdale Antiq. Warwickshire 533 The Chandler shall take for his Fees..the Bed wherein he first lay, after his Bathing, together with the Singleton and other necessaries. [Hence in Holme (1688) iii. 56/1.]
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
singletonn.2
/ˈsɪŋɡ(ə)ltən/ 1. Cards. In whist or bridge: The only card of a suit in a hand. Also attributive.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > types of card
card of re-entry1870
master card1872
singleton1876
entry1884
control1892
stopper1900
raiser1912
long card1913
loser1917
X1920
minor1927
top1929
side entry1937
penalty card1958
master1962
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > whist > [noun] > combinations of cards
tenace1655
singleton1876
1876 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card Gloss. p. vi If..the lead is a singleton..it may be right to put on the ace.
1885 R. A. Proctor How to play Whist Pref. The absolute rejection of the Singleton lead.
1885 R. A. Proctor How to play Whist viii. 91 While doubt remains as to the position of trump strength, avoid..discarding a singleton.
2.
a. A single thing, as distinct from a pair.
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the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > [noun] > one thing > one of two
other1863
impair1880
singleton1892
1892 Athenæum 6 Aug. 191/1 The Duke de Broglie has usually issued the volumes of his elaborate history..in pairs. He now appears with a singleton.
b. Bibliography. (See quot. 1952.)
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society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [noun] > leaf > single (severed or extra) leaf
singleton1952
1952 J. Carter ABC for Book-collectors 166 Singleton, a jargon word (of recent origin in this sense), meaning a single leaf, where a conjugate pair would be expected... A singleton will either be the surviving leaf where the other has been severed for insertion elsewhere, or the severed half in its inset position, or an extra leaf.
1957 N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon 407 A bifolium followed by three singletons.
1975 Anglo-Saxon Eng. 4 116 Leaves 5 and 8 in quire 43 are singletons.
3. A single entry in a competition. Also attributive.
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society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [noun] > competitor or rival > one who takes part in a competition > list of competitors > a single entry
singleton1898
1898 Field 27 Aug. 368 Two instances of singleton entries, and of consequent walks over for the leading prize.
4.
a. A child resulting from a single rather than a multiple birth.
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society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > [noun] > only child
only child1655
parlour child1874
only1931
singleton1931
1931 A. Gesell in C. Murchison Handbk. Child Psychol. vi. 158 Twins have always captured much attention from singletons!
1942 E. B. Hurlock Child Devel. vii. 186 In the size of vocabulary, mean length of sentence, and articulation, twins were retarded as contrasted with singletons of the same age.
1980 Daily Tel. 5 Nov. 3/2 Identical twins tend to marry less often than singletons.
b. One who is alone or unaccompanied, as an only child or unmarried person. Also spec. an undercover agent who operates alone.
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society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > [noun]
singleness1818
singleton1937
single1964
mingle1974
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > solitude or solitariness > [noun] > person
solitary1435
solivagant1621
singleton1937
single1964
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > a secret observer, spy > secret agent > operating alone
singleton1977
1937 E. M. Channon Son of his Parents iii. 63 I'm a singleton. But we had an Anglo-Indian kid here for a couple of years, and he and I did our lessons together.
1969 Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 14/7 Two wealthy singletons with £5,000 a year apiece would each pay £2,400 10s 0d and their combined net income would be £5,199; married they would pay £6,083 10s 0d in tax.
1977 C. McCarry Secret Lovers iii. 32 He was alone, a singleton in the jargon, living under deep cover, with an ordinary passport and no protection from his government.
c. The only one of its kind or class; a set having only one member. Also attributive.
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the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [noun] > a unique thing or example
union1657
unique1714
singularity1814
unicum1885
one-off1947
singleton1966
1966 Sze-Tsen Hu Introd. Gen. Topol. i. 8 A function f: X → Y is said to be one-to-one or injective iff, for every point y ∈ Y, the inverse image f−1(y) is either empty or a singleton.
1975 Language 51 648 A singleton like perdition (or conflagration)..has no relatives like perditeperditive.
1977 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 1976 21 144 The speaker uses the definite description as a characterization of a (singleton) set, whose members he wants to say something about.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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