singe, senge

t. [A. S. sengan =to singe, lit. = to cause to sing, sing, in reference to the noise made by singed hair, .; cogn. with Dut. zengen; Ger. sengen: Icel.sangr = singed, burnt.] 1. Ord. Lang .: To burn slightly or superficially; to burn the surface, ends, or outside of; to scorch. "If you want paper to singe a fowl, tear the first book you see about the house."- Swift : Rules for Servants in General. 2. Calico: To remove the nap from; to prepare for printing or dyeing by removing the fibrous down from the surface of, by pa ing it through a gas flame. singe, s. [SINGE, v.] A slight burning; a burning of the surface. singe-ing, *sindg-ing, pr . par . or a. [SINGE,v.] singeing-lamp, s . A flat-bodied lamp with one open side to the light-chamber, used to singe the hair of horses as a substitute for clipping.