singularity

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual.

   “Pliny addeth this ſingularity to the Indian ſoil, that it is without weeds, that the second year the very falling down of the seeds yieldeth corn.”

   “I took notice of this little figure for the singularity of the instrument.”

   “A sub-cultural style or artifact, when adopted by the mainstream, loses its singularity. Once bell-bottoms became fashionable they were no longer a "gay style."”

2. (countable, uncountable)An unusual action or behaviour.

   “When about 16 years of age I happened to meet with a book, written by one Tryon, recommending a vegetable diet. I determined to go into it. […] My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, and I was frequently chid for my singularity.”

   “"Do you know," said she to Guido one morning, when, after asking her to sing, the Englishman had left the room in the very middle of her song, "that I have taken a fancy into my head, which quite accounts for Mr. Arden's singularities: it is, that I am like some one whom he loved and lost in early youth; and though the loss is dreadful, the love is yet pleasant to remember."”

3. (countable, uncountable)A point where all parallel lines meet.
4. (countable, uncountable)A point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value.
5. (countable, uncountable)The value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist.
6. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of gravitational singularity (“a point or region in spacetime in which gravitational forces cause matter to have an infinite density; associated with black holes”).

   “At this singularity the laws of science and our ability to predict the future would break down. However, any observer who remained outside the black hole would not be affected by this failure of predictability, because neither light nor any other signal could reach him from the singularity.”

   “Consequently the interior of a black hole is empty, with a singularity at the centre.”

7. (abbreviation, alt-of, capitalized, countable, ellipsis, sometimes, uncountable)Ellipsis of technological singularity (“a hypothetical turning point in the future, the culmination of ever-accelerating technological progress, when human history as we have known it ends, and a strange new era begins. For some writers, the catalyst is superhuman machine intelligence”).

   “One conversation centered on the ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue.”

   “Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. […] I think it's fair to call this event a singularity ("the Singularity" for the purposes of this paper).”

   “[Vernor] Vinge was among those (along with, notably, Ray Kurzweil) to discuss the transformation of humans by technology, coming in a matter of decades, referred to as "the singularity."”

   “The notion of the Singularity is predicated on Moore's Law, the 1965 observation by the Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, that the number of transistors that can be etched onto a sliver of silicon doubles at roughly two year intervals.”

8. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Anything singular, rare, or curious.

   “Your Gallerie / Haue vve paſs'd through, not vvithout much content / In many ſingularities; […]”

   “[N]either my Birth, my Education, nor the generall courſe of my life can promiſe no ſingularitie in any part of thoſe Actes they treate of: […]”

   “He was badgered in that witness-box for an hour. By a distracting repetition of cross-examination he was forced to confess that he had seen and spoken to a human biped in broad daylight, yet could not recollect one singularity to distinguish this phantom from the flat mass of humanity.”

9. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.

   “St. Gregory, being himself a Bishop of Rome, and writing against the title of Universal Bishop, saith thus, "None of all my predecessors ever consented to use this ungodly title; no bishop of Rome ever took upon him this name of singularity."”

   “Catholicism […] must be understood in opposition to the legal singularity of the Jewish nation.”

10. (countable, uncountable)Celibacy, singleness (as contrasted with marriage).

    “Gradually the implication of biblical monotheism created an entailment of singularity and monogamy in sexual relations.”

    “Comparisons between marriage and celibacy are dubious. […] In this sense, marriage is the institution of sexual partnering whereas celibacy is an institution of sexual singularity.”

    “David emphasized that being singular in his relationship with God relies on real ties to the community, real friendships and a real work that sustains him. As I write, I am conscious of a singularity that I live and that is supported by close friends, family, clients and religious community. Genuine relationships are crucial and provide a supportive structure of interdependence.”

name

1. The technological singularity.

   “The notion of the Singularity is predicated on Moore's Law, the 1965 observation by the Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, that the number of transistors that can be etched onto a sliver of silicon doubles at roughly two year intervals.”