Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Verge
Verge
(vẽrj)
, Noun.
[F.
verge
, L. virga
; perhaps akin to E. wisp
.] 1.
A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority;
as, the
. verge
, carried before a dean2.
The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.
[Eng.]
3.
(Eng. Law)
The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king’s household had special jurisdiction; – so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore.
4.
A virgate; a yardland.
[Obs.]
5.
A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent.
Even though we go to the extreme
verge
of possibility to invent a supposition favorable to it, the theory . . . implies an absurdity. J. S. Mill.
But on the horizon's
Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.
verge
descried,Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.
M. Arnold.
6.
A circumference; a circle; a ring.
The inclusive
Of golden metal that must round my brow.
verge
Of golden metal that must round my brow.
Shakespeare
7.
(Arch.)
(a)
The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
Oxf. Gloss.
(b)
The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.
Encyc. Brit.
8.
(Horol.)
The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under
Escapement
. 9.
(Hort.)
(a)
The edge or outside of a bed or border.
(b)
A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.
10.
The penis.
11.
(Zool.)
The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.
Syn. – Border; edge; rim; brim; margin; brink.
Verge
(vẽrj)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Verged
(vẽrjd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Verging
(vẽr′jĭng)
.] [L.
vergere
to bend, turn, incline; cf. Skr. vṛj
to turn.] 1.
To border upon; to tend; to incline; to come near; to approach.
2.
To tend downward; to bend; to slope;
as, a hill
. verges
to the northOur soul, from original instinct,
vergeth
towards him as its center. Barrow.
I find myself
verging
to that period of life which is to be labor and sorrow. Swift.
Webster 1828 Edition
Verge
VERGE
,Noun.
1.
A rod, or something in the form of a rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority; the mace of a dean.2.
The stick or wand with which persons are admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. On this account, such tenants are called tenants by the verge.3.
In law, the compass or extent of the king's court, within which is bounded the jurisdiction of the lord steward of the king's household; so called from the verge or staff which the marshal bears.4.
The extreme side or end of any thing which has some extent of length; the brink; edge; border; margin. [This seems to be immediately connected with the L. vergo.]5.
Among gardeners, the edge or outside of a border; also, a slip of grass adjoining to gravel-walks, and dividing them from the borders in the parterre-garden.6.
A part of a time piece.VERGE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To tend downwards; to bend; to slope; as, a hill verges to the north.2.
To tend; to incline; to approach.I find myself verging to that period of life which is to be labor and sorrow.
Definition 2024
verge
verge
See also: vergé
English
Noun
verge (plural verges)
- A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.
- An edge or border.
- John Milton (1608-1674)
- Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favourable to it, the theory […] implies an absurdity.
- Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
- But on the horizon's verge descried, / Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.
- 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
- It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.
- (Britain, Australia, New Zealand) The grassy area between the sidewalk and the street; a tree lawn.
- (figuratively) An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.
- I was on the verge of tears.
- John Milton (1608-1674)
- (obsolete) The phallus.
- An old measure of land: a virgate or yardland.
- A circumference; a circle; a ring.
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- The inclusive verge / Of golden metal that must round my brow.
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- (architecture) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Oxf. Gloss. to this entry?)
- (architecture) The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Encyc. Brit to this entry?)
- (horology) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement.
Synonyms
- (strip of land between street and sidewalk): see list at tree lawn
Translations
rod or staff of office
historical: stick or wand with which persons were admitted tenants
edge or border
phallus — see phallus
zoology: external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc.
extreme limit
old measure of land
circumference: circle of a ring
|
architecture: shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft
architecture: edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof
horology: spindle of a watch balance
Etymology 2
Borrowing from Latin vergō (“to bend, turn, tend toward, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *werg- (“to turn”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, bend”) (compare versus); strongly influenced by the above noun.
Verb
verge (third-person singular simple present verges, present participle verging, simple past and past participle verged)
- (intransitive) To be or come very close; to border; to approach.
- Eating blowfish verges on insanity.
Translations
to come very close
References
- “verge” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
Catalan
Etymology
From Old Provençal [Term?], from Latin virgō, virginem.
Adjective
verge m, f (masculine and feminine plural verges)
Noun
verge m, f (plural verges)
French
Etymology
From Middle French verge (“rod or wand of office”), hence "scope, territory dominated", from Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga (“shoot, rod stick”), of uncertain origin, but probably from a Proto-Indo-European *wisgā (“flexible rod or stick”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vɛʁʒ/
Noun
verge f (plural verges)
Derived terms
Anagrams
Friulian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *virdia (a root), from Latin viridia. Compare Aromanian verdzu, Dalmatian viarz, Italian verza, Portuguese verça, Romanian varză, Spanish berza.
Noun
verge f (plural vergis)
Related terms
Middle French
Etymology 1
From Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga.
Noun
verge f (plural verges)
- rod; stick; staff
- Exodus, the Bible
- Moyse ietta en la terre la verge qu'il tenoit dans sa main […] elle fust soudain changé en serpent
- Moses throw on the ground the staff that he held in is hand […] suddenly, it changes into a serpent
- Exodus, the Bible
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Old French verge, vierge, virge, from virgene, from Latin virgimen, accusative of virgō.
Noun
verge f (plural verges)
- female virgin (female person who has never had sexual intercourse)
Descendants
- French: vierge
Old French
Etymology 1
From a shortening of earlier forms virgine, virgene, from Latin virginem, accusative singular of virgō, possibly a borrowing.
Alternative forms
Noun
verge f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)
- virgin (one who has never had sex)
Adjective
verge m (oblique and nominative feminine singular verge)
Usage notes
- Often capitalized as la Verge when referring to the Virgin Mary
Descendants
Etymology 2
Alternative forms
Noun
verge f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)