shingle
1[ shing-guhl ]
/ ˈʃɪŋ gəl /
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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.
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Idioms for 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
1First 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, nounDefinition for shingle (2 of 3)
shingle2
[ shing-guhl ]
/ ˈʃɪŋ gəl /
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
2First recorded in 1530–40; apparently variant of earlier chingle; further origin uncertain; but compare North Frisian singel “gravel,” Norwegian singel “small stones”
Definition for shingle (3 of 3)
shingle3
[ shing-guhl ]
/ ˈʃɪŋ gəl /
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
3First 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. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for shingle
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
Derived forms of shingle
shingler, nounWord Origin for shingle
C12 scingle, from Late Latin scindula a split piece of wood, from Latin scindere to split
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
Derived forms of shingle
shingly, adjectiveWord Origin for shingle
C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian singl pebbles, Frisian singel gravel
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
Word Origin for 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
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Idioms and Phrases with shingle
shingle
see hang out one's shingle.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.