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singularity

noun
/ˌsɪŋɡjəˈlæɹətɪ/

Etymology

From Middle English singularite, from Old French singularité, from Late Latin singulāritās (“singleness”), from Latin singulāris (“single”). By surface analysis, singular + -ity.

  1. derived from singulāris
  2. derived from singulāritās
  3. derived from singularité
  4. inherited from singularite

Definitions

  1. The state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual.

    • Pliny addeth this ſingularity to the Indian ſoil, that it is without weeds, that the second year the very falling down of the seeds yieldeth corn.
    • I took notice of this little figure for the singularity of the instrument.
    • A sub-cultural style or artifact, when adopted by the mainstream, loses its singularity. Once bell-bottoms became fashionable they were no longer a "gay style."

  2. An unusual action or behaviour.

  3. A point where all parallel lines meet.

  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. A point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value.

    2. The value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist.

    3. Ellipsis of gravitational singularity (“a point or region in spacetime in which…

      Ellipsis of gravitational singularity (“a point or region in spacetime in which gravitational forces cause matter to have an infinite density; associated with black holes”).

      • Consequently the interior of a black hole is empty, with a singularity at the centre.

    4. Ellipsis of technological singularity (“a hypothetical turning point in the future, the…

      Ellipsis of technological singularity (“a hypothetical turning point in the future, the culmination of ever-accelerating technological progress, when human history as we have known it ends, and a strange new era begins. For some writers, the catalyst is superhuman machine intelligence”).

      • [Vernor] Vinge was among those (along with, notably, Ray Kurzweil) to discuss the transformation of humans by technology, coming in a matter of decades, referred to as "the singularity."

    5. Anything singular, rare, or curious.

      • Your Gallerie / Haue vve paſs'd through, not vvithout much content / In many ſingularities; […]
      • [N]either my Birth, my Education, nor the generall courſe of my life can promiſe no ſingularitie in any part of thoſe Actes they treate of: […]

    6. Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.

      • Catholicism […] must be understood in opposition to the legal singularity of the Jewish nation.

    7. Celibacy, singleness (as contrasted with marriage).

      • Gradually the implication of biblical monotheism created an entailment of singularity and monogamy in sexual relations.
      • Comparisons between marriage and celibacy are dubious. […] In this sense, marriage is the institution of sexual partnering whereas celibacy is an institution of sexual singularity.

    8. The technological singularity.

      • The notion of the Singularity is predicated on Moore's Law, the 1965 observation by the Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, that the number of transistors that can be etched onto a sliver of silicon doubles at roughly two year intervals.

The neighborhood

Derived

cosmic singularity, equisingularity, gravitational singularity, Kurzweil singularity, multisingularity, naked singularity, nonsingularity, polysingularity, post-singularity, postsingularity, quantum singularity, ring singularity, ringularity, Singularitarian, Singularitarianism, technological singularity

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for singularity. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA