In legal definitions for
relationshipsAn interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love and liking, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment...
, a
single person is one who is not
marriedMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
.
Single people may engage in
datingCourtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship, a couple dates to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement...
to find a partner or spouse. Not all single people actively seek out a relationship, however, as some are content to wait for the 'right' person to enter their lives, while others do not seek relations at all. Additionally, persons may be required to remain single (or chaste) for religious reasons such as
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
s,
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s, or
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s in certain faiths.
According to the United States Bureau of the Census, the fastest-growing household type since the 1980s has been the single person.
Discussion
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In legal definitions for
relationshipsAn interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love and liking, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment...
, a
single person is one who is not
marriedMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
.
Single people may engage in
datingCourtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship, a couple dates to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement...
to find a partner or spouse. Not all single people actively seek out a relationship, however, as some are content to wait for the 'right' person to enter their lives, while others do not seek relations at all. Additionally, persons may be required to remain single (or chaste) for religious reasons such as
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
s,
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s, or
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s in certain faiths.
According to the United States Bureau of the Census, the fastest-growing household type since the 1980s has been the single person. There has been a similar increase in single person households in Britain.
LonelinessLoneliness is a feeling where people experience a powerful surge of emptiness and solitude. Loneliness is more than the feeling of wanting company or wanting to do something with another person...
can occur for many single people who look for but cannot find anyone they might wish to date, especially for those suffering the loss of
companionshipAn interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love and liking, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment...
following
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
or bereavement. Some single people, however, regard and appreciate
solitudeSolitude is a state of seclusion or isolation; i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, contagious disease, disfiguring features, repulsive personal habits, mental illness, or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often...
as an opportunity.
There is a legal distinction between a single person and an unmarried person. Generally, an unmarried person may have been married and now be widowed or divorced. In some cases, mortgage papers have had to be redrawn because the buyer was mistakenly described as "unmarried" rather than "single." (This left open the possibility that a mysterious ex-spouse might claim a part interest in the house being purchased.)
Terminology
Single men are often referred to as
bachelorA bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married , the terms origin in this sense dates from 1385, Middle English....
s—while single women generally are named
bacheloretteFor the 1982 Dolly Parton song, see "Single Women".Bachelorette is an informal, chiefly American term for an unmarried woman. It is derived from the word bachelor, and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some individuals...
s in festive contexts in
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
. Elderly single women are sometimes referred to as
spinsterThe term "spinster" was originally intended to indicate a woman who spun wool, thereby living independently of a male wage. These women were invariably single and, due to the medieval fear of unmarried women, became correlated with their pagan sisters as witches...
s.
Catherinette was a traditional
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
label for girls of twenty-five years old who were still unmarried by the Feast of Saint Catherine.