shingles

[shing-guh lz] /ˈʃɪŋ gəlz/
noun, (used with a singular or plural verb) Pathology
1.
a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, especially by reactivated virus in an older person, characterized by skin eruptions and pain along the course of involved sensory nerves.
Also called herpes zoster.
Origin
1350-1400; < Medieval Latin cingulum (Latin: girdle; cf. cincture) translation of Greek zṓnē zone in its medical sense; see -s3

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 shingles
  • Asphalt composition shingles are a popular choice because of their low price point and long life.
  • Faced with bleak job prospects, many of the unemployed are hanging out shingles.
  • Solar will soon be cheap enough to start replacing roofing shingles, gravel roofs and building facades.
  • The drug had previously been approved for use in treating the nerve pain of shingles.
  • The dad got shingles a few months later, after they were blown up.
  • From the outside, look for patches of new shingles, which are indicators of past leaks.
  • It would be an easy matter to make the eaves much lighter-by using, say, wooden shingles instead of tiles.
  • shingles is an infection caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus responsible for chickenpox.
  • Asphalt shingles are nailed down, so you will need to pry up the nails and then slide the shingle out to put in a new one.
  • shingles-- a painful blistered skin condition caused by the same virus as chickenpox.
British Dictionary definitions for shingles

shingles

/ˈʃɪŋɡəlz/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing) an acute viral disease affecting the ganglia of certain nerves, characterized by inflammation, pain, and skin eruptions along the course of the affected nerve Technical names herpes zoster, zoster
Word Origin
C14: from Medieval Latin cingulum girdle, rendering Greek zōnēzone

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 shingles
n.

"inflammatory disease of the skin," late 14c., from Medieval Latin cingulus (loan-translation of Greek zoster "girdle"), variant of Latin cingulum "girdle," from cingere "to gird" (see cinch (n.)). The inflammation often extends around the middle of the body, like a girdle.

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.

shingles in Medicine

shingles shin·gles (shĭng'gəlz)
n.
An acute infection caused by a herpesvirus and characterized by inflammation of the sensory ganglia of certain spinal or cranial nerves and the eruption of vesicles along the affected nerve path. It usually strikes only one side of the body and is often accompanied by severe neuralgia. Also called herpes zoster, zona, zoster.

shingles in Science
shingles
  (shĭng'gəlz)   
See under herpes.
Slang definitions & phrases for shingles

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 shingles

shingle

see: hang out one's shingle