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  1. singularity love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. The quality or condition of being singular.
  2. n. A trait marking one as distinct from others; a peculiarity.
  3. n. Something uncommon or unusual.
  4. n. Astrophysics A point in space-time at which gravitational forces cause matter to have infinite density and infinitesimal volume, and space and time to become infinitely distorted.
  5. n. Mathematics A point at which the derivative does not exist for a given function but every neighborhood of which contains points for which the derivative exists. Also called singular point.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The state or character of being singular. Existence as a unit, or in the singular number.
  2. n. Separateness from others; solitariness; specifically, celibacy.
  3. n. Individualism, as in conduct, opinion, characteristics, etc.
  4. n. Uniqueness; the state of having no duplicate, parallel, or peer.
  5. n. Unusualness; rareness; uncommon character; hence, specifically, rare excellence, value, eminence, or note.
  6. n. Variation from established or customary usage; eccentricity; oddity; strangeness.
  7. n. That which is singular; a singular person, thing, event, act, characteristic, mood, or the like; especially, an individual or personal peculiarity.
  8. n. In mathematics, an exceptional element or character of continuum. in geometry, a projective character of a locus consisting in certain points, lines, or planes being exceptional in their relations to it. (For examples, see binode.) An ordinary singularity is one of a set of singularities of which all others are modifications or compounds. Thus, an actual node upon a skew curve is a modiflcation of an apparent node, and ought not to be reckoned as an ordinary singularity. But cusps and inflections, as stationary points and tangents, are ordinary singularities. A higher singularity is one which differs indefinitely little from an aggregation of ordinary singularities. (See tacnode.) By an ellipsis common in geometrical language, the word singularity is used for point-singularity, or a relation to some exceptional point. Thus, a plane curve with neither nodes nor cusps is said to be without singularities, although, unless a conic, it has inflections, and unless a conic or cubic, double tangents. The word singularity is also used to denote the number of singular points, lines, or planes of any one kind; also for any number characteristic of a projective property, in which sense the order, class, and rank of a locus are sometimes termed singularities.
  9. n. Synonyms Uncommonness, oddness.
  10. n. Idiosyncrasy. See eccentric.

Wiktionary

  1. n. the state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual
  2. n. a point where all parallel lines meet
  3. n. a point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value
  4. n. mathematics the value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist
  5. n. physics a point or region in spacetime in which gravitational forces cause matter to have an infinite density; associated with black holes
  6. n. A proposed point in the technological future at which artificial intelligences become capable of augmenting and improving themselves, leading to an explosive growth in intelligence.
  7. n. obsolete Anything singular, rare, or curious.
  8. n. obsolete Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.
  9. n. obsolete celibacy

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. The quality or state of being singular; some character or quality of a thing by which it is distinguished from all, or from most, others; peculiarity.
  2. n. Anything singular, rare, or curious.
  3. n. Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.
  4. n. obsolete Celibacy.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. strangeness by virtue of being remarkable or unusual
  2. n. the quality of being one of a kind

Etymologies

  1. From Old French singularite, from Late Latin singularitas ("singleness"), from Latin singularis ("single"); see singular. (Wiktionary)

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Comments

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  • elohiwarrior 'I Dole On' should be the name used here for A1 eidolon, the comments made are of a nature that resembles the great 'Oz' behind a curtain of technocracy. The ability to have faith keeps the dream alive... Jul 1, 2009

  • john The concept of ultrasmart computers — machines with “greater than human intelligence�? — was dubbed “The Singularity�? in a 1993 paper by the computer scientist and science fiction writer Vernor Vinge. He argued that the acceleration of technological progress had led to “the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth.�?...

    The science fiction author Ken MacLeod described the idea of the singularity as “the Rapture of the nerds.�?

    The New York Times, The Coming Superbrain, by John Markoff, May 23, 2009 May 24, 2009

  • stefanne I was thinking of this word in more of the scientific sense of the word: the central-most point of a black hole, where matter is crushed to infinite density, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and spacetime has infinite curvature. May 21, 2009

  • super-logos Does it also not have a flavor of being rare or strange or momentous ? Aug 20, 2008

  • milosrdenstvi Ah! then you mean to say that this gentleman's smoke, instead of emulating the example of all other sorts of smoke, and going up the chimney, thinks proper to affect a singularity by taking the contrary direction?

    -- Cox and Box Aug 20, 2008

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‘singularity’ has been looked up 2152 times, loved by 6 people, added to 54 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.