Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Singe \Singe\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Singed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Singeing}.] [OE. sengen, AS. sengan in besengan (akin to D.
   zengen, G. sengen), originally, to cause to sing, fr. AS.
   singan to sing, in allusion to the singing or hissing sound
   often produced when a substance is singed, or slightly
   burned. See {Sing}.]
   1. To burn slightly or superficially; to burn the surface of;
      to burn the ends or outside of; as, to singe the hair or
      the skin.

            You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, . . .
            Singe my white head!                  --Shak.

            I singed the toes of an ape through a burning glass.
                                                  --L'Estrange.

   2.
      (a) To remove the nap of (cloth), by passing it rapidly
          over a red-hot bar, or over a flame, preliminary to
          dyeing it.
      (b) To remove the hair or down from (a plucked chicken or
          the like) by passing it over a flame.