shingle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʃɪŋ.ɡəl/^[1]

Etymology

The roofing word comes from Middle English scincle, schingle,^[2][3] from Old English scindel,^[4][5][6] from Late Latin scindula,^{[4][2][5][6][3]} an alteration of Latin scandula (“shingle”),^[4][2][6][3] influenced by scindere “to split”^[4][5] or by Greek words for a lath or splinter.^[2][3] The shingle of a beach is a separate word of uncertain origin,^[2][5] perhaps related to Norwegian singl “small stones”.^[2][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A thin piece of wood used as a roof tile (about 1200).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to cover a roof with shingles, is from 1562.^[2][7][6] In the U.S. a small signboard, especially a doctor's or lawyer's, was a shingle from 1842, hence to hang out one's shingle.^[2][5][7] The verb was applied to cutting hair short so that it overlaps like shingles (1857),^[5][7] and the noun to a woman's close-cropped haircut (1924).^[2][5][7] The beach word is recorded from 1513 for a pebbly shore and from 1598 for the pebbles themselves.^[2][7]

Timeline

• about 1200 – a wooden roof tile.^[2][7]
• 1513 – a pebbly beach (separate word).^[2][7]
• 1562 – verb, to roof with shingles.^[2][7]
• 1842 – a small signboard.^[2][5]
• 1857 – verb, to cut hair short.^[5][7]
• 1924 – a woman's short haircut.^[2][5][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thin oblong piece of wood, slate or other material laid in overlapping rows to cover a roof or wall.
2. A small signboard, as at a professional office.
3. A woman's close-cropped haircut.
4. Beach gravel of large smooth pebbles; also a stretch of shore covered with it.

Verb

1. To cover a roof or building with shingles.
2. To cut hair short and close to the head.
3. To arrange so as to overlap.

Word family

• shingler
• shingly
• reshingle
• shingle oak

Related words

• shingles
• schism
• schist

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press