1.
[syn: file, single file, Indian file]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Single \Sin"gle\, a. [L. singulus, a dim. from the root in
simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See
Simple, and cf. Singular.]
1. One only, as distinguished from more than one; consisting
of one alone; individual; separate; as, a single star.
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No single man is born with a right of controlling
the opinions of all the rest. --Pope.
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2. Alone; having no companion.
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Who single hast maintained,
Against revolted multitudes, the cause
Of truth. --Milton.
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3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man or woman.
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Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
--Shak.
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Single chose to live, and shunned to wed. --Dryden.
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4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined with others;
as, a single thread; a single strand of a rope.
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5. Performed by one person, or one on each side; as, a single
combat.
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These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . .
Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
--Milton.
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6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
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Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to
compound. --I. Watts.
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7. Not deceitful or artful; honest; sincere.
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I speak it with a single heart. --Shak.
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8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly. [Obs.]
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He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.
--Beau. & Fl.
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Single ale, Single beer, or Single drink, small ale,
etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is
stronger. [Obs.] --Nares.
Single bill (Law), a written engagement, generally under
seal, for the payment of money, without a penalty.
--Burril.
Single court (Lawn Tennis), a court laid out for only two
players.
Single-cut file. See the Note under 4th File.
Single entry. See under Bookkeeping.
Single file. See under 1st File.
Single flower (Bot.), a flower with but one set of petals,
as a wild rose.
Single knot. See Illust. under Knot.
Single whip (Naut.), a single rope running through a fixed
block.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
File \File\ (f[imac]l), n. [F. file row (cf. Pr., Sp., Pg., &
It. fila), LL. fila, fr. L. filum a thread. Cf. Enfilade,
Filament, Fillet.]
1. An orderly succession; a line; a row; as:
(a)
(Mil.) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; -- in
contradistinction to rank, which designates a row
of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting
the depth of a body of troops, which, in the
ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the
battalion standing two deep, or in two ranks.
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Note: The number of files in a company describes its width,
as the number of ranks does its depth; thus, 100 men in
"fours deep" would be spoken of as 25 files in 4 ranks.
--Farrow.
(b) An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence
or classified for preservation and reference; as,
files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings
English files to the 15th instant.
(c) The line, wire, or other contrivance, by which papers
are put and kept in order.
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It is upon a file with the duke's other letters.
--Shak.
(d) A roll or list. "A file of all the gentry." --Shak.
2. Course of thought; thread of narration. [Obs.]
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Let me resume the file of my narration. --Sir H.
Wotton.
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3. (computers) a collection of data on a digital recording
medium treated as a unit for the purpose of recording,
reading, storage, or indexing; -- such a file is typically
accessible by computer programs by the use of a file name.
The data may be of any type codable digitally, such as
simple ASCII-coded text, complex binary-coded data, or an
executable program, or may be itself a collection of other
files.
[PJC]
File firing, the act of firing by file, or each file
independently of others.
File leader, the soldier at the front of any file, who
covers and leads those in rear of him.
File marching, the marching of a line two deep, when faced
to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank
march side by side. --Brande & C.
Indian file, or Single file, a line of people marching
one behind another; a single row. Also used adverbially;
as, to march Indian file.
On file, preserved in an orderly collection; recorded in
some database.
Rank and file.
(a) The body of soldiers constituting the mass of an army,
including corporals and privates. --Wilhelm.
(b) Those who constitute the bulk or working members of a
party, society, etc., in distinction from the leaders.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
single file
n 1: a line of persons or things ranged one behind the other
[syn: file, single file, Indian file]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
55 Moby Thesaurus words for "single file":
Indian file, array, articulation, bank, buzz, catena, catenation,
chain, chain reaction, chaining, concatenation, connection,
consecution, continuum, course, cycle, descent, drone,
endless belt, endless round, file, filiation, gamut, gradation,
hum, line, lineage, monotone, nexus, pendulum, periodicity, plenum,
powder train, progression, queue, range, rank, recurrence,
reticulation, rotation, round, routine, row, run, scale, sequence,
series, spectrum, string, succession, swath, thread, tier, train,
windrow