singer

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈsɪŋ.ə/, US /ˈsɪŋ.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English singer, formed from English sing + -er.^[2][3] It replaced Old English sangere “singer, poet” and songere “psalmist”.^[2] A feminine singestre is found in the early 13th century, translating Latin cantrix, and singeresse in the late 14th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who sings, male or female: about 1300 in Etymonline,^[2] about 1330 in the OED;^[4] it appears as a surname in the mid-13th century.^[2] Barnhart dates it to about 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^[5]

Semantic evolution

A poet is from 1560,^[4] a songbird from 1626,^[4] and in criminal slang an informer from 1935, after sing “to inform”.^[4] In northern dialect a singer was a member of a village choir.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – one who sings.^[2]
• 1560 – a poet.^[4]
• 1626 – a songbird.^[4]
• 1935 – an informer.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who sings, especially as a profession.
2. (literary) A poet.
3. A songbird.

Word family

• folksinger
• nonsinger
• torch singer

Related words

• mastersinger
• meistersinger
• songster
• songstress
• sing
• song

Usage notes

A different word singer, one who or that which singes, is from 1875.^[4][3]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)