shingle1

[shing-guh l] /ˈʃɪŋ gəl/
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), shingled, shingling.
4.
to cover with shingles, as a roof.
5.
to cut (hair) close to the head.
Idioms
6.
hang out one's shingle, Informal. to establish a professional practice, especially in law or medicine; open an office.
7.
have / be a shingle short, Australian Slang. to be mentally disturbed, mad, or eccentric.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English scincle, sc(h)ingle < Medieval Latin scindula lath, shingle (Middle English -g- apparently by association with another unidentified word), Latin scandula (Medieval Latin -i- perhaps by association with Greek schíza lath, splinter, or related words)
Related forms
shingler, noun

shingle2

[shing-guh l] /ˈʃɪŋ gəl/
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.
Origin
1530-40; apparently variant of earlier chingle; compare Norwegian singel small stones

shingle3

[shing-guh l] /ˈʃɪŋ gəl/
verb (used with object), shingled, shingling. Metalworking.
1.
to hammer or squeeze (puddled iron) into a bloom or billet, eliminating as much slag as possible; knobble.
Origin
1665-75; < French cingler to whip, beat < German zängeln, derivative of Zange tongs
Examples from the web for shingle
  • True, the back had been customised as a cedar-shingle hut, complete with a crooked stove-pipe.
  • No one looks divine on a horse who is not thin as a shingle.
  • The enchantments of barren shingle and rough weather transformed every adventurer into a laborer.
  • Our asphalt shingle roof has dark streaks of mildew on it, even though there are no overhanging trees that keep it shaded.
  • The finished product has the weight of a tile, but the look of a shingle.
  • Maybe, in other words, they could make a shingle that not only protects a house from rain and snow but also produces electricity.
  • He seemed to get the idea and stopped pushing his lawyer's shingle into my face.
  • The small shingle approach looks to be less efficient and could benefit by converting to larger vertical steel roofing panels.
  • Avoid skimpy shingle coverage and heavy building papers.
  • The following is a list of resources intended to give more information about asphalt shingle recycling.
British Dictionary definitions for shingle

shingle1

/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.
(US & Canadian) a small signboard or nameplate fixed outside the office of a doctor, lawyer, etc
4.
(Austral, informal) a shingle short, unintelligent or mentally subnormal
verb (transitive)
5.
to cover (a roof or a wall) with shingles
6.
to cut (the hair) in a short-cropped style
Derived Forms
shingler, noun
Word Origin
C12 scingle, from Late Latin scindula a split piece of wood, from Latin scindere to split

shingle2

/ˈʃɪŋɡəl/
noun
1.
coarse gravel, esp the pebbles found on beaches
2.
a place or area strewn with shingle
Derived Forms
shingly, adjective
Word Origin
C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian singl pebbles, Frisian singel gravel

shingle3

/ˈʃɪŋɡəl/
verb
1.
(transitive) (metallurgy) to hammer or squeeze the slag out of (iron) after puddling in the production of wrought iron
Word Origin
C17: from Old French dialect chingler to whip, from chingle belt, from Latin cingula girdle; see cingulum
Word Origin and History for shingle
n.

"thin piece of wood," c.1200, scincle, from Late Latin scindula (also the source of German Schindel), altered (by influence of Greek schidax "lath" or schindalmos "splinter") from Latin scandula "roof tile," from scindere "to cleave, split," from PIE root *sked- "to split." Meaning "small signboard" is first attested 1842. Sense of "woman's short haircut" is from 1924; the verb meaning "to cut the hair so as to give the impression of overlapping shingles" is from 1857.

"loose stones on a seashore," 1510s, probably related to Norwegian singl "small stones," or North Frisian singel "gravel," both said to be echoic of the sound of water running over pebbles.

v.

"cover with shingles" (of houses), 1560s, from shingle (n.). Related: Shingled; shingling.

Slang definitions & phrases for shingle

shingle

noun

A signboard, esp one designating professional services: He got him a shingle and started practice last year (1847+)

Related Terms

hang up one's shingle, shit on a shingle


Idioms and Phrases with shingle

shingle

see: hang out one's shingle