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. [ 1913 Webster ]

You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, . . .
Singe my white head! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I singed the toes of an ape through a burning glass. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]