Singe (sĭnj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Singed (sĭnjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Singeing (sĭnjˈĭng).] [OE. sengen, AS. sengan in besengan (akin to D. zengen, G. sengen), originally, to cause to sing, fr. AS. singan to sing, in allusion to the singing or hissing sound often produced when a substance is singed, or slightly burned. See Sing.]
1. To burn slightly or superficially; to burn the surface of; to burn the ends or outside of; as, “to singe the hair or the skin”.
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You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, . . .
Singe my white head! Shak.
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I singed the toes of an ape through a burning glass. L'Estrange.
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2. (a) To remove the nap of (cloth), by passing it rapidly over a red-hot bar, or over a flame, preliminary to dyeing it. (b) To remove the hair or down from (a plucked chicken or the like) by passing it over a flame.
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