singular

views updated Jun 11 2018

sin·gu·lar / ˈsinggyələr/ • adj. 1. exceptionally good or great; remarkable: the singular beauty of the desert. ∎  strange or eccentric in some respect: no explanation accompanied this rather singular statement. ∎  Math. possessing unique properties. ∎ Math. (of a square matrix) having a zero determinant. ∎  Math. denoting a point that is a singularity.2. Gram. (of a word or form) denoting or referring to just one person or thing.3. single; unique: she always thought of herself as singular, as his only daughter.• n. (usu. the singular) Gram. the singular form of a word: the first person singular.DERIVATIVES: sin·gu·lar·ly adv.

singular

views updated May 14 2018

singular †alone, solitary; one only; (gram.); †separate, single, personal; †special, particular; not customary, peculiar XVII. ME. singuler — OF. singuler (mod. singulier) — L. singulāris, f. singulus SINGLE; see -ER2. The form in -er was not finally displaced by the latinized -ar till XVII.
So singularity XIV. — (O)F. — late L.

SINGULAR

views updated May 29 2018

SINGULAR. A term contrasting with PLURAL and dual in the number system of a language and referring to one person or thing. In English, the term is often used to include uncountable noun usages like love and wine because they take singular verb concord, even though in other ways such nouns are different from singular countable nouns like horse and stone.

Singular

views updated May 14 2018

Singular

of boars: a pack of boarsBk. of St. Albans, 1486.

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