different between curiosity vs singularity

English

Etymology

From Middle English curiosite, variant of curiouste, from Anglo-Norman curiouseté, from Latin c?ri?sit?tem, from c?ri?sus. Surface analysis curious +? -ity; see -osity.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kyoo?r"??s'?t?, IPA^(key): /?kj??????s?ti/

Noun

curiosity (countable and uncountable, plural curiosities)

1. (uncountable) Inquisitiveness; the tendency to ask and learn about things by asking questions, investigating, or exploring. [from 17th c.]

   Synonym: inquisitiveness

   Antonym: ignorance

   • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

     It was the first time that the lawyer had been received in that part of his friend's quarters; and he eyed the dingy, windowless structure with curiosity, and gazed round with a distasteful sense of strangeness as he crossed the theatre
2. A unique or extraordinary object which arouses interest. [from 17th c.]

3. (obsolete) Careful, delicate construction; fine workmanship, delicacy of building. [16th-19th c.]
   • 1631, John Smith, Advertisements, in Kupperman 1988, p. 81:

     wee built a homely thing like a barne, set upon Cratchets, covered with rafts, sedge, and earth, so also was the walls; the best of our houses of the like curiosity, but the most part farre much worse workmanship […]

Derived terms

• curiosity killed the cat

Related terms

• curious

Translations

References

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French singularité, from Late Latin singul?rit?s (“singleness”), from Latin singul?ris (“single”).

Morphologically singular +? -ity

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s???j??læ??t?/

Noun

singularity (countable and uncountable, plural singularities)

1. The state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual.
2. A point where all parallel lines meet.
3. A point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value.
4. (mathematics) The value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist.
5. (physics) A point or region in spacetime in which gravitational forces cause matter to have an infinite density; associated with black holes.
6. A proposed point in the technological future at which artificial intelligences become capable of augmenting and improving themselves, leading to an explosive growth in intelligence.
7. (obsolete) Anything singular, rare, or curious.
8. (obsolete) Possession of a particular or exclusive privilege, prerogative, or distinction.
9. (obsolete) celibacy, singleness

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Jeremy Taylor to this entry?)

Synonyms

• centrohub
• monosemy

Derived terms

Related terms

• single
• singular

Translations

Further reading

• singularity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• singularity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• singularity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• singularity at OneLook Dictionary Search