singer
UK /ˈsɪŋ.ə/ · US /ˈsɪŋ.ɚ/ noun, proper noun
Forms singers
- noun A person who sings, often professionally. “It's the singer, not the song.”
- noun (square dance) dance figure with a fixed structure, sung by a caller, or a piece of music with that structure.
- noun A person who, or device which, singes.
- noun A machine for singeing cloth.
- proper noun A surname originating as an occupation.
- proper noun A railway station in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom, named after the Singer sewing machine factory that formerly existed there (OS grid ref NS4970).
- noun (sewing) A sewing machine of the Singer brand.
- noun (UK, automotive) A motorcar from a former make of British motor car.
Synonyms
cantor crooner chanter vocalist vocalizer vocaliser Isaac M. Singer Isaac Merrit Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English synger, syngere, singere, singare, equivalent to sing + -er. Cognate with Scots singar, Saterland Frisian Sjunger, West Frisian sjonger, German Low German Singer. Compare also Old English sangere, Dutch zanger, German Low German Sänger, German Sänger (“singer”), Danish sanger, Swedish sångare, Icelandic söngvari.
From singe + -er.
* (sewing machines): Named after American inventor and businessman I. M. Singer, the company founder of Singer Sewing Machines
* (motorcars): Named after British entrepreneur and businessman George Singer, the company founder of Singer & Co.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who, or that which, singes. Specifically: (a) One employed to singe cloth.
- noun One who sings; especially, one whose profession is to sing.
Etymology [From Singe.]
Etymology [From Sing.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “singer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details