Definition of "singularity"

singularity

/ˌsɪŋɡjəˈlæɹətɪ/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural singularities
1. The state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual.
  Quotations
  I took notice of this little figure for the singularity of the instrument.
  1718, Joseph Addison, Remarks on several parts of Italy, &c. in the years 1701, 1702, 1703‎
  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.
  a. 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, The Marrow of Historie, Or, an Epitome of All Historical Passages from the Creation, to the End of the Last Macedonian War‎, published 1650
2. An unusual action or behaviour.
  Quotations
  "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."
  1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), page 115
3. A point where all parallel lines meet.
4. A point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value.
5. (mathematics) The value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist.
6. (physics) 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.
  Quotations
  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.
  1988, Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, Bantam, page 88
  Consequently the interior of a black hole is empty, with a singularity at the centre.
  1992, Jean-Pierre Luminet, Black Holes, Cambridge University Press, page 135
7. (sometimes capitalized) Ellipsis of technological singularity: a hypothetical turning point in the future, the culmination 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.
  Quotations
  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.
  1958, Stan Ulam, “Tribute to John von Neumann”, in Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
  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).
  1993, Vernor Vinge, “The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era”, in Whole Earth Review
  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.
  2016 April 7, John Markoff, “When Is the Singularity? Probably Not in Your Lifetime”, in The New York Times‎
8. (obsolete) Anything singular, rare, or curious.
  Quotations
  Your Gallerie / Haue we paſs'd through, not without much content / In many ſingularities;
  c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act V, scene iii], page 302
  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.
  1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, page 89
9. (obsolete) Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.
  Quotations
  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."
  1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie‎, book 2
  Catholicism […] must be understood in opposition to the legal singularity of the Jewish nation.
  1659, Bishop John Pearson, An Exposition of the Creed‎
10. Celibacy, singleness (as contrasted with marriage).
  Quotations
  Marriage is the mother of the world, and preserves Kingdomes, and fils Cities, and Churches, and Heaven itself: Celibate, like the flie in the heart of an apple, dwels in a perpetuall sweetnesse, but sits alone, and is confin'd, and dies in singularity; but marriage, like the useful bee, builds a house and gathers sweetnesse from every flower, and labours and unites into Societies and Republicks, and sends out colonies, and feeds the world with delicacies, and obeys its king, and keeps order, and exercises many vertues, and promotes the interest of mankind, and is that state of good things to which God hath designed the present constitution of the world.
  1655, Jeremy Taylor, Eniautos: A Covrse of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year, page 223
  Gradually the implication of biblical monotheism created an entailment of singularity and monogamy in sexual relations.
  1995, Joseph Monti, Arguing About Sex: The Rhetoric of Christian Sexual Morality, page 234
  Chapter Twenty - Two Faces of Sexual IntegrationComparisons between marriage and celibacy are dubious. […] In this sense, marriage is the institution of sexual partnering whereas celibacy is an institution of sexual singularity.
  1998, Judith A. Merkle, A Different Touch: A Study of Vows in Religious Life, Liturgical Press, page 248
  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.
  2015, Susan J. Pollard, Celibacy and Soul: Exploring the Depths of Chastity, Fisher King Press, page 59