Singe (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Singed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Singeing (?).] [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.
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, . . .
Singe my white head!
Shak.
I singed the toes of an ape through a burning glass.
L'Estrange.
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.
© Webster 1913.
Singe, n.
A burning of the surface; a slight burn.
© Webster 1913.