shingle

[ shing-guhl ]

See synonyms for: shingle shingled shingling on Thesaurus.com

noun

a thin piece of wood, slate, metal, asbestos, or the like, usually oblong, laid in overlapping rows to cover the roofs and walls of buildings.
a woman's close-cropped haircut.

Informal. a small signboard, especially as hung before a doctor's or lawyer's office.

verb (used with object),shin·gled, shin·gling.

to cover with shingles, as a roof.
to cut (hair) close to the head.

Idioms about shingle

hang out one's shingle, Informal. to establish a professional practice, especially in law or medicine; open an office.
have / be a shingle short, Australian Slang. to be mentally disturbed, mad, or eccentric.

Origin of shingle

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English scincle, sc(h)ingle, shyngle, ultimately from Latin scindula, variant of scandula “lath, shingle” (Middle English -g- is unexplained); Latin scindula is due perhaps to association with Greek schíza, schídax “piece of split wood, splinter”

Other words from shingle

shingler, noun

Other definitions for shingle (2 of 3)

shingle²

[ shing-guhl ]

noun

small, waterworn stones or pebbles such as lie in loose sheets or beds on a beach.
a beach, riverbank, or other area covered with such small pebbles or stones.

Origin of shingle

First recorded in 1530–40; apparently variant of earlier chingle; further origin uncertain; but compare North Frisian singel “gravel,” Norwegian singel “small stones”

Other definitions for shingle (3 of 3)

shingle³

[ shing-guhl ]

verb (used with object),shin·gled, shin·gling.Metalworking.

to hammer or squeeze (puddled iron) into a bloom or billet, eliminating as much slag as possible; knobble.

Origin of shingle

First recorded in 1665–75; from French cingler “to whip, beat,” from German zängeln “to shingle,” derivative of Zange “pincers, pliers”; see also tong

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shingle in a sentence

Fortunately, there’s no gust on planet Earth that could blow GAF’s latest generation of industry-leading shingles away.
The 8 most helpful new home products of 2020 | By Sandra Gutierrez G. and John Kennedy | December 3, 2020 | Popular-Science
GAF’s Timberline HDZ shingles—the first offering to feature the LayerLock system—held fast even when a research facility blasted them with winds as fast as 153 mph, or the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane.
The 8 most helpful new home products of 2020 | By Sandra Gutierrez G. and John Kennedy | December 3, 2020 | Popular-Science
“We underestimated the motivation of the public to protect themselves from shingles, and my hope is that if we prepare the public appropriately, they will be very motivated to protect themselves from covid-19,” she said.
‘Absolutely normal’: Covid vaccine side effects are no reason to avoid the shots, doctors say | Allyson Chiu | December 3, 2020 | Washington Post
Instead of relying on only nails and adhesive, the company’s LayerLock technology strengthens the shingles from the get-go.
The 100 greatest innovations of 2020 | Popular Science Staff | December 2, 2020 | Popular-Science
Around Urbana-Champaign, the home of the University of Illinois, school district officials say children and adolescents lay shingles, wash dishes and paint off-campus university apartments.
Inside the Lives of Immigrant Teens Working Dangerous Night Shifts in Suburban Factories | by Melissa Sanchez | November 19, 2020 | ProPublica

The shingled old house offered blank windows to the road, like so many sightless eyes.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret Penrose
A gabled shingled roof was commonly used; wherever they could be afforded, dormer windows were added.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. Torpey
Just behind the barn he built me a lean-to shed, 253 about seventy-five feet long, open toward the east, and shingled rainproof.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton
He sleeps at night with his nose against th' shingled roof iv his little frame home an' dhreams iv cinch bugs.
Mr. Dooley Says | Finley Dunne
The furnaces have a mid-rib dividing the product into two balls of 10 cwt., which are shingled under a 10-ton hammer.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XV., No. 388, June 9, 1883 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for shingle (1 of 3)

shingle¹

/ (ˈʃɪŋɡəl) /

noun

a thin rectangular tile, esp one made of wood, that is laid with others in overlapping rows to cover a roof or a wall
a woman's short-cropped hairstyle

US and Canadian a small signboard or nameplate fixed outside the office of a doctor, lawyer, etc
a shingle short Australian informal unintelligent or mentally subnormal

verb(tr)

to cover (a roof or a wall) with shingles
to cut (the hair) in a short-cropped style

Origin of shingle

C12 scingle, from Late Latin scindula a split piece of wood, from Latin scindere to split

Derived forms of shingle

shingler, noun

British Dictionary definitions for shingle (2 of 3)

shingle²

/ (ˈʃɪŋɡəl) /

noun

coarse gravel, esp the pebbles found on beaches
a place or area strewn with shingle

Origin of shingle

C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian singl pebbles, Frisian singel gravel

Derived forms of shingle

shingly, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for shingle (3 of 3)

shingle³

/ (ˈʃɪŋɡəl) /

verb

(tr) metallurgy to hammer or squeeze the slag out of (iron) after puddling in the production of wrought iron

Origin of shingle

C17: from Old French dialect chingler to whip, from chingle belt, from Latin cingula girdle; see cingulum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with shingle

shingle

see hang out one's shingle.

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