shingle

¹

[ shing-guhl ]

noun

1. 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.
2. a woman's close-cropped haircut.
3. Informal. a small signboard, especially as hung before a doctor's or lawyer's office.

verb (used with object)

, shin·gled, shin·gling.

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

shingle

²

[ shing-guhl ]

noun

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

shingle

³

[ shing-guhl ]

verb (used with object)

, Metalworking.

, shin·gled, shin·gling.

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

shingle

¹

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

noun

1. a thin rectangular tile, esp one made of wood, that is laid with others in overlapping rows to cover a roof or a wall
2. a woman's short-cropped hairstyle
3. a small signboard or nameplate fixed outside the office of a doctor, lawyer, etc
4. a shingle short informal.
   unintelligent or mentally subnormal

verb

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

shingle

²

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

noun

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

shingle

³

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˈshingler, noun
• ˈshingly, adjective

Other Words From

• shingler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shingle¹

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”

Origin of shingle²

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

Origin of shingle³

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shingle¹

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

Origin of shingle²

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

Origin of shingle³

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

More idioms and phrases containing shingle

see hang out one's shingle .

Example Sentences

People can have the flu vaccine at the same time as other jabs such as those for Covid and shingles.

From BBC

The Pharmacy First service, launched in January in England, extended the range of services chemists can provide, including treatment of sinusitis, earache and shingles.

From BBC

“To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret working, I got shingles,” Moore says, almost proudly, in her familiar deep rasp.

From Los Angeles Times

The campaign transition was apparently frictionless: Harris basically just hung a new shingle on the same operation.

From Los Angeles Times

In the UK, a free shingles vaccine is available to people who turn 65, those aged between 70 and 79, and people aged 50 and over who have a severely weakened immune system.

From BBC

Related Words

• brush
• cut down
• kiss
• pare
• prune
• shear
• shred
• skim
• slash
• trim