different between single vs mere

English

Etymology

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s????l/
• Rhymes: -????l

Adjective

single (not comparable)

1. Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.

2. Not divided in parts.

3. Designed for the use of only one.

4. Performed by one person, or one on each side.
5. Not married or (in modern times) not involved in a romantic relationship without being married or not dating anyone exclusively.
6. (botany) Having only one rank or row of petals.
7. (obsolete) Simple and honest; sincere, without deceit.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke 11:

     Therefore, when thyne eye is single: then is all thy boddy full off light. Butt if thyne eye be evyll: then shall all thy body be full of darknes?
8. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard

     simple ideas are opposed to complex , and single ideas to compound.

   • 1867, William Greenough Thayer Shedd, Homiletics, and Pastoral Theology (page 166)

     The most that is required is, that the passage of Scripture, selected as the foundation of the sacred oration, should, like the oration itself, be single, full, and unsuperfluous in its character.

9. (obsolete) Simple; foolish; weak; silly.

   • He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.

Synonyms

• (not accompanied by anything else): lone, sole
• (not divided in parts): unbroken, undivided, uniform
• (not married): unmarried, available

Antonyms

• (not married): divorced, married, widowed, taken
• (not single, in a relationship, but with separate households): living apart together, LAT

Derived terms

Related terms

• singular
• singularity
• singularly

Translations

Noun

single (plural singles)

1. (music) A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.

   Antonym: album

2. (music) A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually having at least one extra track.

3. One who is not married or does not have a romantic partner.

   Antonym: married

4. (cricket) A score of one run.
5. (baseball) A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.
6. (dominoes) A tile that has a different value (i.e. number of pips) at each end.
7. A bill valued at $1.

8. (Britain) A one-way ticket.
9. (Canadian football) A score of one point, awarded when a kicked ball is dead within the non-kicking team's end zone or has exited that end zone. Officially known in the rules as a rouge.
10. (tennis, chiefly in the plural) A game with one player on each side, as in tennis.
11. One of the reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
12. (Britain, Scotland, dialect) A handful of gleaned grain.
13. (computing, programming) A floating-point number having half the precision of a double-precision value.

    Coordinate term: double

    • 2011, Rubin H. Landau, A First Course in Scientific Computing (page 214)

      If you want to be a scientist or an engineer, learn to say “no” to singles and floats.

14. (film) A shot of only one character.
    • 1990, Jon Boorstin, The Hollywood Eye: What Makes Movies Work (page 94)

      But if the same scene is shot in singles (or “over-the-shoulder” shots where one of the actors is only a lumpy shoulder in the foreground), the editor and the director can almost redirect the scene on film.

Derived terms

• cassingle
• lead single
• singles bar
• split single
• CD single

Translations

See also

• baseball
• cricket

Verb

single (third-person singular simple present singles, present participle singling, simple past and past participle singled)

1. To identify or select one member of a group from the others; generally used with out, either to single out or to single (something) out.
   • 1915, Austen Chamberlain, speech on April 16, 1915

     Sir John French says that if he is to single out one regiment in the fighting at Ypres it is the Worcesters he would name? I do plead that some person should record these events, so that our history, national and local, may be the richer for them, that the children may be stimulated to do their duty by the knowledge of the way in which our soldiers are doing theirs to-day.

2. (baseball) To get a hit that advances the batter exactly one base.

3. (agriculture) To thin out.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 7

     Paul went joyfully, and spent the afternoon helping to hoe or to single turnips with his friend.

4. (of a horse) To take the irregular gait called singlefoot.
   • 1860, William S. Clark, Massachusetts Agricultural College Annual Report

     Many very fleet horses, when overdriven, adopt a disagreeable gait, which seems to be a cross between a pace and a trot, in which the two legs of one side are raised almost but not quite, simultaneously. Such horses are said to single, or to be single-footed.

5. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     an agent singling itself from consorts

6. To take alone, or one by one.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     men […] commendable when they are singled

7. To reduce a railway to single track.

Derived terms

• single out

Translations

See also

References

• single in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “single”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• Nigels, glinse, ingles

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English single.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /?si?.??l/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /?si?.?el/

Noun

single m (plural singles)

1. (music) single

Further reading

• “single” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “single” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “single” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English single.

Pronunciation

• (music record or track): IPA^(key): /?s??.?l/, /?s??.??l/
• ((person) without romantic partner): IPA^(key): /?s??.??l/
• Hyphenation: sin?gle

Noun

single m (plural singles, diminutive singletje n)

1. A single (short music record, e.g. 45 RPM vinyl with an A side and a B side; main track of such a record).
2. A single (person without a romantic partner).

Derived terms

• debuutsingle
• hitsingle

Adjective

single (not comparable)

1. single (without a romantic partner)

Inflection

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from English single.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?si?le/, [?s?i?le?]
• Rhymes: -i?le
• Syllabification: sing?le

Noun

single

1. single (45 rpm record; track nominally released on its own)

Declension

See also

• pitkäsoitto

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English single.

Noun

single m or f (invariable)

1. single, loner (person who lives alone and has no emotional ties)

Adjective

single (invariable)

1. single (unmarried, not in a relationship)

   Synonym: (formal) celibe

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• singel

Etymology

Borrowed from English single and singles.

Noun

single m (definite singular singlen, indefinite plural singler, definite plural singlene)

1. (music) a single (record or CD)
2. (sports) singles (e.g. in tennis)

Synonyms

• singelplate (record)

References

• “single” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• singel

Etymology

Borrowed from English single and singles.

Noun

single m (definite singular singlen, indefinite plural singlar, definite plural singlane)

1. (music) a single (record or CD)
2. (sports) singles (e.g. in tennis)

Synonyms

• singelplate (record)

References

• “single” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English single.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?s?.?ow/

Noun

single m (plural singles)

1. (music) single (song released on its own or with an extra track)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English single. Doublet of sendos.

Noun 1

single m (plural singles)

1. single (song released)

Noun 2

single m or f (plural singles)

1. single, single person

English

Pronunciation

(body of water; limit; famous; just, only):

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /m??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /m??/

(Maori war-club):

• IPA^(key): /?m??i/, /?m???/

Etymology 1

From Middle English mere, from Old English mere (“the sea; mere, lake”), from Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Cognate with West Frisian mar, Dutch meer, Low German meer, Meer, German Meer, Norwegian mar (only used in combinations, such as marbakke). Related to Latin mare, Breton mor, Russian ????? (móre). Doublet of mar and mare.

Alternative forms

• meer, meere, mear

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. (dialectal or literary) A body of standing water, such as a lake or a pond. More specifically, it can refer to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth. Also included in place names such as Windermere.
   • 1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion song 20 p. 16[1]:

     When making for the Brooke, the Falkoner doth espie

     On River, Plash, or Mere, where store of Fowle doth lye:

   • The meres of Shropshire and Chesbire.

   • 1913, Annie S. Swan, The Fairweathers

     She loved.. to watch the lovely shadows in the silent depths of the placid mere.

   • 1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber & Faber 2005, p. 194:

     Lok got to his feet and wandered along by the marshes towards the mere where Fa had disappeared.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English mere, from Old English m?re, ?em?re (“boundary; limit”), from Proto-Germanic *mairij? (“boundary”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to fence”). Cognate with Dutch meer (“a limit, boundary”), Icelandic mærr (“borderland”), Swedish landamäre (“border, borderline, boundary”).

Alternative forms

• meer, meere, mear, meare

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. Boundary, limit; a boundary-marker; boundary-line.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ix:

     The Troian Brute did first that Citie found, / And Hygate made the meare thereof by West, / And Ouert gate by North: that is the bound / Toward the land; two riuers bound the rest.

Derived terms

• Hertsmere

Verb

mere (third-person singular simple present meres, present participle mering, simple past and past participle mered)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To limit; bound; divide or cause division in.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To set divisions and bounds.
3. (cartography) To decide upon the position of a boundary; to position it on a map.

Related terms

• mereing

Etymology 3

From Middle English mere, from Old English m?re (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-Germanic *m?rijaz, *m?raz (“excellent, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *m?ros (“large, handsome”). Cognate with Middle High German mære (“famous”), Icelandic mærr (“famous”), and German Mär, Märchen ("fairy tale").

Alternative forms

• meere, mare

Adjective

mere (comparative more mere, superlative most mere)

1. (obsolete) Famous.

Etymology 4

From Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus. Perhaps influenced by Old English m?re (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), or conflated with Etymology 3.

Adjective

mere (comparative merer, superlative merest)

1. (obsolete) Pure, unalloyed [8^th-17^thc.].
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.8:

     So oft as I this history record, / My heart doth melt with meere compassion […].
2. (obsolete) Nothing less than; complete, downright [15^th-18^thc.].
   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol I, ch. 35:

     This freedom of expostulation exalted his mother's ire to meer frenzy […] .

3. Just, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected. [from 16^thc.]

   • Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].

Derived terms

• merely

Translations

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Maori mere (“more”).

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. A Maori war-club.
   • 2000, Errol Fuller, Extinct Birds, Oxford 2000, p. 41:

     As Owen prepared to dismiss the matter, Rule produced something that really caught the great man's eye – a greenstone mere, the warclub of the Maori.

Anagrams

• Emer., REME, erme, meer, reem

Afrikaans

Noun

mere

1. plural of meer

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse meiri (“more”), from Proto-Germanic *maizô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /me?r?/, [?me??]

Adjective

mere

1. more; to a higher degree

   Han er mere højtidelig end jeg er.

   He is more solemn than I am.

2. more; in greater quantity

   I har mere plads end jeg har.

   You have more space than I do.

Usage notes

"Mere", in the second sense, is only used with uncountable nouns. For countable nouns, use flere.

Estonian

Noun

mere

1. genitive singular of meri

Italian

Adjective

mere f

1. feminine plural of mero

Anagrams

• erme

Latin

Verb

mer?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of mere?

References

• mere in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• mere in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch m?ro, from Proto-Germanic *maizô.

Adjective

mêre

2. greater, larger

   Antonym: minre

3. older

   Antonym: minre

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Determiner

mêre

1. more

   Antonym: minre

Descendants

• Dutch: meer

Adverb

mêre

1. Alternative form of mêe

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch meri, from Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Noun

m?re f or n

2. lake (fresh water)
3. sea (salt water)

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: meer
  • Afrikaans: meer
• Limburgish: maer

Further reading

• “mere (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “mere (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “mere (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page I
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “mere (VIII)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page VIII

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French mere medre, from Latin m?ter, m?trem.

Noun

mere f (plural meres)

1. mother (female family member)

Descendants

• French: mère
  • Haitian Creole: mè

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea”). Cognate with Old Frisian mere (West Frisian mar), Old Saxon meri (Low German Meer), Dutch meer, Old High German meri (German Meer), Old Norse marr (Swedish mar). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin mare, Old Irish muir (Breton mor), Old Church Slavonic ???? (more) (Russian ????? (móre)), Lithuanian mãre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?me.re/

Noun

mere m

1. lake
2. pool
3. (poetic or in compounds) sea

Declension

Derived terms

• meresw?n
• ?þmere

Descendants

• Middle English: mere
  • English: mere
  • Scots: mere

See also

• ?a (“river”)
• g?rse?? (“ocean”)
• s? (“sea”)
• str?am (“stream”)

Old French

Alternative forms

• medre

Etymology

From earlier medre, from Latin m?ter, m?trem.

Noun

mere f (oblique plural meres, nominative singular mere, nominative plural meres)

1. mother (female family member)

Descendants

• Bourguignon: meire
• Middle French: mere
  • French: mère
    • Haitian Creole: mè
• Norman: mère, méthe
• Walloon: mere

Romanian

Noun

mere n pl

1. plural of m?r

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

mere (Cyrillic spelling ????)

1. third-person plural present of meriti