singer

See also: Singer

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English synger, syngere, singere, singare, equivalent to sing +‎ -er. Cognate with Scots singar, Saterland Frisian Sjunger, West Frisian sjonger, German Low German Singer. Compare also Old English sangere, Dutch zanger, German Low German Sänger, German Sänger (“singer”), Danish sanger, Swedish sångare, Icelandic söngvari.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋə/
• (General American) enPR: sĭng′ər IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋə(ɹ)

Noun

singer (plural singers)

1. A person who sings, often professionally.
2. (square dance) dance figure with a fixed structure, sung by a caller, or a piece of music with that structure.

Synonyms

• (person who sings): cantor, chanter

Hyponyms

• (person who sings):
  • (female): cantrix (archaic), chanteuse, chantress, singeress (obsolete, rare), songstress
  • (male): songster

Derived terms

• carol singer
• opera singer
• singeress
• singer-songwriter
• square dance singer

 

Related terms

• mastersinger
• meistersinger
• songster
• songstress

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: シンガー (shingā)

Translations

person who sings

• Afrikaans: sanger
• Albanian: këngëtar (sq) m
• Arabic: مُطْرِب‎ m (muṭrib), مُغَنٍّ‎ m (muḡannin) (indefinite), اَلْمُغَنِّي‎ m (al-muḡannī) (definite)

  Egyptian Arabic: مغني‎ m (moḡani)

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܙܡܪܐ‎ m (zammārā)

• Armenian: երգիչ (hy) (ergičʿ)
• Aromanian: cãntãtor m
• Assamese: please add this translation if you can
• Asturian: cantante m, cantor m
• Azerbaijani: müğənni (az)
• Bashkir: йырсы (yïrsï); йырау (yïraw) (traditional), йыраусы (yïrawsï)
• Basque: abeslari (eu), kantari
• Belarusian: спява́к m (spjavák)
• Bengali: গায়ক (gaẏôk)
• Berber:

  Tashelhit: amarir m

• Breton: kaner (br) m
• Bulgarian: певе́ц m (pevéc)
• Burmese: တေးသံရှင် (my) (te:samhrang), အဆိုတော် (my) (a.hcuitau)
• Catalan: cantant (ca) m, cantor (ca) m, cantaire (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 歌手 (go¹ sau²)

  Dungan: чонҗязы (čonži͡azɨ), чонҗяр (čonži͡ar)

  Hakka: 歌手 (kô-sú)

  Mandarin: 歌手 (zh) (gēshǒu)

  Min Dong: 歌手 (gŏ̤-chiū)

  Min Nan: 歌手 (koa-chhiú / ko-chhiú)

  Wu: 歌手 (ku seu)

• Czech: zpěvák (cs) m
• Danish: sanger (da) c
• Dhivehi: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: zanger (nl) m
• Dzongkha: སྐད་འཐེན་མི (skad 'then mi)
• Esperanto: kantanto, kantisto (professional)
• Estonian: laulja m, laulik m
• Faroese: sangari m
• Finnish: laulaja (fi)
• French: chanteur (fr) m
• Friulian: cjantautôr m, cjantôr m, cjantant
• Galician: cantante (gl) m, cantor m
• Georgian: მომღერალი (momɣerali)
• German: Sänger (de) m, Sängerchen n (diminutive), Sängerlein n (diminutive)
• Gothic: 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 m (liuþareis)
• Greek: τραγουδιστής (el) m (tragoudistís)
• Greenlandic: erinarsortartoq
• Hebrew: זמר \ זַמָּר‎ (he) m (zamár)
• Hindi: गायक (hi) m (gāyak)
• Hungarian: énekes (hu) m
• Icelandic: söngvari (is) m
• Indonesian: penyanyi (id)
• Irish: amhránaí m, fonnadóir m
• Italian: cantante (it) m
• Japanese: 歌手 (ja) (かしゅ, kashu)
• Kalmyk: дууч (duuç)
• Kazakh: әнші (kk) (änşi)
• Khakas: ырӌы (ırcı), сарынӌы (sarıncı)
• Khmer: អ្នកចំរៀង (nĕək cɑmriəng), អ្នកច្រៀង (nĕək criəng), គីតិកា (kiitekaa) (female)
• Korean: 가수 (ko) (gasu) (歌手 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: گۆرانی بێژ‎ (goranî bêj)

• Kyrgyz: ырчы (ky) (ırçı), обончу (obonçu)
• Ladin: please add this translation if you can
• Lao: ນັກຮ້ອງ (nak hǭng)
• Latin: cantor (la) m

• Latvian: dziedātājs m
• Ligurian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: dainininkas m
• Lombard: please add this translation if you can
• Low German:

  German Low German: Singer m

• Lü: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: пејач m (pejač)
• Malay: penyanyi, biduan, vokalis, tukang nyanyi, pelagu
• Maori: kaiwaiata
• Middle English: synger
• Mon: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: дуучин (mn) (duučin)
• Nahuatl: cuicani (nah)
• Norman: chanteux m
• Northern Sami: please add this translation if you can
• Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sanger (no) m

  Nynorsk: songar m

• Occitan: cantaire (oc) m

  Old Occitan: chantador m

• Old English: sangere m
• Pashto: خواننده‎ m or f (xānendá), سندربول‎ m (sadǝrból), آوازخوان‎ m (āwāzxwãn)
• Persian: خواننده‎ (fa) (xânande)
• Piedmontese: cantant m
• Polish: piosenkarz (pl) m, śpiewak (pl) m
• Portuguese: cantor (pt) m
• Rohingya: please add this translation if you can
• Romagnol: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: cântăreț (ro) m
• Romansch: chantadur m
• Russian: певе́ц (ru) m (pevéc), вокали́ст (ru) m (vokalíst)
• Scottish Gaelic: seinneadair, òranaiche m, neach-seinn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: певач m

  Roman: pevač (sh) m

• Shan: ၵူၼ်းႁဵတ်းၵႂၢမ်း (kúun hét kwáam)
• Slovak: spevák m
• Slovene: pevec (sl) m
• Spanish: cantante (es) m, cantor m
• Swedish: sångare (sv) c
• Sylheti: please add this translation if you can
• Tachawit: acennay (shy)
• Tai Nüa: please add this translation if you can
• Tajik: сароянда (tg) (saroyanda), сурудхон (surudxon), ҳофиз (hofiz), муғаннӣ (muġannī), хонанда (tg) (xonanda)
• Taos: yò’óna
• Tatar: җырчы (tt) (cırçı)
• Telugu: పాటగాడు (pāṭagāḍu)
• Thai: นักร้อง (th) (nák-rɔ́ɔng)
• Turkish: şarkıcı (tr), şantör (tr) m
• Turkmen: aýdymçi, bagşy (tk)
• Tuvan: ыраажы (ıraajı)
• Ukrainian: співа́к m (spivák)
• Urdu: گلوکار‎ (galōkār), گایک‎ m (gāyak)
• Uyghur: ناخشىچى‎ (ug) (naxshichi)
• Uzbek: ashulachi (uz), qoʻshiqchi (uz), hofiz (uz)
• Vietnamese: ca sĩ (vi)
• Volapük: kanitan (vo), hikanitan (male)
• Walloon: tchanteu (wa) m
• Welsh: canwr m
• West Frisian: sjonger c
• Yakut: ырыаһыт (ırıahıt)
• Yiddish: זינגער‎ m (zinger)
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

female person who sings

• Albanian: këngëtare (sq) f
• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: مغنية‎ f (moḡaneya)

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܙܡܪܬܐ‎ f (zammārtā)

• Armenian: երգչուհի (hy) (ergčʿuhi)
• Asturian: cantante f
• Belarusian: спява́чка f (spjaváčka)
• Breton: kanerez (br) f
• Bulgarian: певи́ца f (pevíca)
• Catalan: cantant (ca) f
• Czech: zpěvačka (cs) f
• Danish: sangerinde (da) c
• Dutch: zangeres (nl) f
• Esperanto: kantantino, kantistino (professional)
• Estonian: lauljanna f, lauljatar f
• Faroese: sangarinna f
• French: chanteuse (fr) f
• Galician: cantante (gl) f
• German: Sängerin (de) f
• Greek: τραγουδίστρια (el) f (tragoudístria)
• Hebrew: זמרת \ זַמֶּרֶת‎ f (zaméret)
• Hindi: गायिका f (gāyikā)
• Hungarian: énekesnő (hu) f
• Icelandic: söngkona (is) f
• Italian: cantante (it) f
• Khmer: គីតិកា (kiitekaa)
• Ladin: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: cantrīx (la) f
• Latvian: dziedātāja f
• Ligurian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: dainininkė f
• Lombard: please add this translation if you can

• Low German:

  German Low German: Singerin f, Singersch f, Singersche f

• Macedonian: пејачка f (pejačka)
• Malay: biduanita
• Norman: chant'rêsse f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sangerinne (no) f

  Nynorsk: songarinne f

• Occitan: cantaira f
• Old English: sangestre f
• Piedmontese: cantanta f
• Polish: piosenkarka (pl) f, śpiewaczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: cantora (pt) f
• Romagnol: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: cântăreață (ro) f
• Romansch: chantadura f
• Russian: певи́ца (ru) f (pevíca), вокали́стка (ru) f (vokalístka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: певачица f

  Roman: pevačica (sh) f

• Slovak: speváčka f
• Slovene: pevka f
• Spanish: cantante (es) f, cantora f
• Swedish: sångerska (sv) c
• Telugu: పాటగత్తె (pāṭagatte)
• Turkish: şantöz (tr) f
• Ukrainian: співа́чка f (spiváčka)
• Urdu: گلوکارہ‎ (galōkāra), گایکا‎ f (gāyikā)
• Volapük: jikanitan
• Walloon: tchanteuse (wa) f
• Welsh: cantores f
• West Frisian: sjongster c
• Yiddish: זינגערין‎ f (zingerin)

dance figure

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} kantisto (io)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} stranbêj (ku)

• Occitan: ^{(please verify)} cantaire (oc)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} cântăreață (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} cântăreț (ro) m

Etymology 2

From singe +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɪndʒə(ɹ)

Noun

singer (plural singers)

1. A person who, or device which, singes.
2. A machine for singeing cloth.

Translations

person or device that singes

• Italian: gazatrice f

Anagrams

• Greins, Negris, nigres, re-nigs, re-sign, reigns, renigs, resign, resing, ringes, signer

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French

Etymology

In at least the ape sense, from singe (“monkey”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛ̃.ʒe/

Verb

singer

1. to ape
2. to sprinkle with flour

Conjugation

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written singe- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a “soft” /ʒ/ and not a “hard” /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

Conjugation of singer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	singer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	singeant /sɛ̃.ʒɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		singé /sɛ̃.ʒe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singes /sɛ̃ʒ/	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singeons /sɛ̃.ʒɔ̃/	singez /sɛ̃.ʒe/	singent /sɛ̃ʒ/
	imperfect	singeais /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singeais /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singeait /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/	singions /sɛ̃.ʒjɔ̃/	singiez /sɛ̃.ʒje/	singeaient /sɛ̃.ʒɛ/
	past historic2	singeai /sɛ̃.ʒe/	singeas /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singea /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singeâmes /sɛ̃.ʒam/	singeâtes /sɛ̃.ʒat/	singèrent /sɛ̃.ʒɛʁ/
	future	singerai /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁe/	singeras /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁa/	singera /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁa/	singerons /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/	singerez /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁe/	singeront /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	singerais /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerais /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerait /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/	singerions /sɛ̃.ʒə.ʁjɔ̃/	singeriez /sɛ̃.ʒə.ʁje/	singeraient /sɛ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singes /sɛ̃ʒ/	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	singions /sɛ̃.ʒjɔ̃/	singiez /sɛ̃.ʒje/	singent /sɛ̃ʒ/
	imperfect2	singeasse /sɛ̃.ʒas/	singeasses /sɛ̃.ʒas/	singeât /sɛ̃.ʒa/	singeassions /sɛ̃.ʒa.sjɔ̃/	singeassiez /sɛ̃.ʒa.sje/	singeassent /sɛ̃.ʒas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	singe /sɛ̃ʒ/	—	singeons /sɛ̃.ʒɔ̃/	singez /sɛ̃.ʒe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is only usable with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “singer” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• signer