Sin″gle (?), a. [L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. SeeSimple, 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.
He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice. Beau. & Fl.
Single ale, beer, ordrink, small ale, etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is stronger. 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.