I. ˈshiŋgəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English scincle, schingel, probably from Latin scindula, alteration of scandula; akin to Old Norse skinn skin — more at skin
1.
a. : a small thin piece of building material (as wood or asbestos) often with one end thicker than the other laid in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of a building
b. : a piece of wood similar in shape to a roofing shingle but larger and usually from 7/8 to 1 1/4 inches thick at the butt and applied to the ordinarily flat bottom of a racing motorboat to form a series of small steps
2. : a small signboard — usually used with hang out
hung out a shingle and worked up a nice medical practice — R.L.Taylor
3. : a woman's haircut with the hair trimmed short from the back of the head to the nape
II. transitive verb
( shingled ; shingled ; shingling g(ə)liŋ ; shingles )
1. : to cover with or as if with shingles
helped his neighbor to shingle his roof
2. : to bob and shape (the hair) by cutting close at the nape of the neck and gradually longer up the back of the head
3. : to lay or dispose so as to overlap
bacon for this package is stacked rather than shingled — Meat Magazine
4.
a. : to overlap or duplicate one's own claims on land
b. : to encroach knowingly upon the lawful claims of others
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian & Swedish singel coarse gravel (especially on the seashore); akin to Middle Low German singele gravely bank
1. : coarse rounded detritus or alluvial material especially on the seashore differing from ordinary gravel only in the size of the stones which may be as large as a man's head
2. : a place (as a beach) strewn with shingle
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: French dialect (Picardy) chingler, literally, to whip, from Middle French dialect, from chingle strap, belt, from Latin cingula — more at cingle
: to subject (as a mass of iron from the puddling furnace) to the process of expelling cinder and impurities by hammering and squeezing