Where does “singles” come from?
Singles comes from English single, derived from Latin singulus, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European sem- meaning one or alone.
singles (English): Of or pertaining to unmarried people; plural of...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to unmarried people; plural of...
Ancestry of “singles”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | single | Not accompanied by anything else; one in number;... |
| 2 | Middle English | single | — |
| 3 | Old French | sengle | single; alone; alone; in an unaccompanied way |
| 4 | Late Latin | cingula | nominative/accusative/vocative plural of cingulum |
| 5 | Latin | Cingulum | situated on a lofty hill, now Cingoli |
| 6 | Latin | -ulum | Used to form a noun of instrument or means from a... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tlom | Alternative form of *-trom |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |