singe

verb, noun — 4 senses

singe

verb

/sɪnd͡ʒ/

Etymology From Middle English sengen, from Old English senġan, sænċġan (“to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *sangijan (“to burn, torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *senk- (“to burn”). Cognate with West Frisian singe, sinzje (“to singe”), Saterland Frisian soange (“to singe”), Dutch zengen (“to singe, scorch”), German Low German sengen (“to singe”), German sengen (“to singe, scorch”), Icelandic sangur (“singed, burnt, scorched”).

1

To burn slightly.

  • made combustible by Flame They treat of, we have pretty Game, For they their own Tail Singe, to save Us1702, Sir Roger L’Estrange, “The First Viſion of the Algouazil (or Catchpole) Poſſest”, in The Viſions of Dom Franciſco de Quevedo-Villegas'^([21]):
2

To remove the nap of (cloth), by passing it rapidly over a red-hot bar, or over a flame, preliminary to dyeing it.

3

To remove the hair or down from (a plucked chicken, etc.) by passing it over a flame.

Synonyms
scorch
Derived terms
besinge, singeingly, singe one's wings, unsinged

singe

noun

Etymology From Middle English sengen, from Old English senġan, sænċġan (“to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *sangijan (“to burn, torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *senk- (“to burn”). Cognate with West Frisian singe, sinzje (“to singe”), Saterland Frisian soange (“to singe”), Dutch zengen (“to singe, scorch”), German Low German sengen (“to singe”), German sengen (“to singe, scorch”), Icelandic sangur (“singed, burnt, scorched”).

1

A burning of the surface; a slight burn.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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