Singe1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. SINGED; p. pr. & vb. n. SINGEING.] [A-S. & O. H. Ger. sengan, N. H. Ger. sengen, D. zengen, originally to cause to sing, from singan, to sing, because the sound produced by burning slightly seems to be a kind of singing.]
Sense 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.
Thunderbolts singe my white head. Shak.
Thus riding on his curls he seemed to pass A rolling fire along, and singe the grass. Dryden.
Sense 2. (Calico Manuf.) To remove the nap of, as calico, in order to prepare it for printing or dyeing, by passing it rapidly over a red-hot bar, or through a flame, as of gas.