shingles
shingles Lexical Profile
shingles Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An acute viral infection caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, characterized by a painful, blistering skin rash that typically appears in a band or strip on one side of the body.
"The doctor recommended a vaccine to help prevent shingles in older adults."
Rectangular or shaped tiles made of wood, asphalt, slate, or composite material, laid in overlapping rows to cover and weatherproof the roof or outer walls of a building.
"The severe windstorm blew several asphalt shingles off the roof of the garage."
• verb
To cover a roof or building wall with overlapping wooden, asphalt, or slate tiles (third-person singular present tense of shingle).
"The contractor always shingles the porch roof before painting the exterior trim."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the viral infection, "shingles" is a plural-form noun that is treated as singular in grammar (e.g., "Shingles is painful"), whereas when referring to roofing tiles, it functions as a standard plural noun.
• Rhymes for shingles
Word Origin & Etymology
In its medical sense, the word derives from Medieval Latin cingulus, a variant of Latin cingulum meaning "girdle" or "belt," referring to the way the rash wraps around the torso. The roofing and gravel senses stem separately from Latin scandula ("roof tile") and a Scandinavian root akin to Norwegian singel ("coarse gravel").