Adjacent Words

Edge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EDGE, n. [L. acies, acus.]
1. In a general sense, the extreme border or point of any thing; as the edge of the table; the edge of a book; the edge of cloth. It coincides nearly with border, brink, margin. It is particularly applied to the sharp border, the thin cutting extremity of an instrument, as the edge of an ax, razor, knife or scythe; also, to the point of an instrument, as the edge of a sword.
2. Figuratively, that which cuts or penetrates; that which wounds or injures; as the edge of slander.
3. A narrow part rising from a broader.
Some harrow their ground over, and then plow it upon an edge.
4. Sharpness of mind or appetite; keenness; intenseness of desire; fitness for action or operation; as the edge of appetite or hunger.
Silence and solitude set an edge on the genius.
5. Keenness; sharpness; acrimony.
Abate the edge of traitors.
To set the teeth on edge, to cause a tingling or grating sensation in the teeth.
EDGE, v.t.
1. To sharpen.
To edge her champion's sword.
2. To furnish with an edge.
A sword edged with flint.
3. To border; to fringe.
A long descending train,
With rubies edged.
4. To border; to furnish with an ornamental border; as, to edge a flower-bed with box.
5. To sharpen; to exasperate; to embitter.
By such reasonings,the simple were blinded, and the malicious edged.
6. To incite; to provoke; to urge on; to instigate; that is, to push on as with a sharp point; to goad. Ardor or passion will edge a man forward,when arguments fail.
7. To move sideways; to move by little and little; as, edge your chair along.
EDGE, v.i. To move sideways; to move gradually. Edge along this way.
1. To sail close to the wind.
To edge away, in sailing, is to decline gradually from the shore or from the line of the course.
To edge in with, to draw near to, as a ship in chasing.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the boundary of a surface [syn: edge, border]
2: a line determining the limits of an area [syn: boundary, edge, bound]
3: a sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object; "he rounded the edges of the box"
4: the attribute of urgency in tone of voice; "his voice had an edge to it" [syn: edge, sharpness]
5: a slight competitive advantage; "he had an edge on the competition"
6: the outside limit of an object or area or surface; a place farthest away from the center of something; "the edge of the leaf is wavy"; "she sat on the edge of the bed"; "the water's edge" v
1: advance slowly, as if by inches; "He edged towards the car" [syn: edge, inch]
2: provide with a border or edge; "edge the tablecloth with embroidery" [syn: border, edge]
3: lie adjacent to another or share a boundary; "Canada adjoins the U.S."; "England marches with Scotland" [syn: border, adjoin, edge, abut, march, butt, butt against, butt on]
4: provide with an edge; "edge a blade"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English egge, from Old English ecg; akin to Latin acer sharp, Greek akm? point Date: before 12th century 1. a. the cutting side of a blade <a razor's edge> b. the sharpness of a blade <a knife with no edge> c. (1) force, effectiveness <blunted the edge of the legislation> (2) vigor or energy especially of body <maintains his hard edge> d. (1) incisive or penetrating quality <writing with a satirical edge> (2) a noticeably harsh or sharp quality <her voice had an edge to it> (3) a secondary but distinct quality <rock music with a bluesy edge> e. keenness or intensity of desire or enjoyment <lost my competitive edge> <took the edge off our appetites> 2. a. the line where an object or area begins or ends ; border <on the edge of a plain> b. the narrow part adjacent to a border <the edge of the deck> c. (1) a point near the beginning or the end; especially brink, verge <on the edge of disaster> (2) the threshold of danger or ruin <living on the edge> d. a favorable margin ; advantage <has an edge on the competition> 3. a line or line segment that is the intersection of two plane faces (as of a pyramid) or of two planes • edgeless adjective II. verb (edged; edging) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to give an edge to b. to be on an edge of <trees edging the lake> 2. to move or force gradually <edged him off the road> 3. to incline (a ski) sideways so that one edge cuts into the snow 4. to defeat by a small margin — often used with out <edged out her opponent> intransitive verb to advance by short moves

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a boundary line or margin of an area or surface. 2 a narrow surface of a thin object. 3 the meeting-line of two surfaces of a solid. 4 a the sharpened side of the blade of a cutting instrument or weapon. b the sharpness of this (the knife has lost its edge). 5 the area close to a steep drop (along the edge of the cliff). 6 anything compared to an edge, esp. the crest of a ridge. 7 a (as a personal attribute) incisiveness, excitement. b keenness, excitement (esp. as an element in an otherwise routine situation). --v. 1 tr. & intr. (often foll. by in, into, out, etc.) move gradually or furtively towards an objective (edged it into the corner; they all edged towards the door). 2 tr. a provide with an edge or border. b form a border to. c trim the edge of. 3 tr. sharpen (a knife, tool, etc.). 4 tr. Cricket strike (the ball) with the edge of the bat. Phrases and idioms: have the edge on (or over) have a slight advantage over. on edge 1 tense and restless or irritable. 2 eager, excited. on the edge of almost involved in or affected by. set a person's teeth on edge (of a taste or sound) cause an unpleasant nervous sensation. take the edge off dull, weaken; make less effective or intense. Derivatives: edgeless adj. edger n. Etymology: OE ecg f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Edge Edge, n. [OE. eg, egge, AS. ecg; akin to OHG. ekka, G. ecke, Icel. & Sw. egg, Dan. eg, and to L. acies, Gr. ? point, Skr. a?ri edge. ??. Cf. Egg, v. t., Eager, Ear spike of corn, Acute.] 1. The thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument; as, the edge of an ax, knife, sword, or scythe. Hence, figuratively, that which cuts as an edge does, or wounds deeply, etc. He which hath the sharp sword with two edges. --Rev. ii. 12. Slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword. --Shak. 2. Any sharp terminating border; a margin; a brink; extreme verge; as, the edge of a table, a precipice. Upon the edge of yonder coppice. --Shak. In worst extremes, and on the perilous edge Of battle. --Milton. Pursue even to the very edge of destruction. --Sir W. Scott. 3. Sharpness; readiness of fitness to cut; keenness; intenseness of desire. The full edge of our indignation. --Sir W. Scott. Death and persecution lose all the ill that they can have, if we do not set an edge upon them by our fears and by our vices. --Jer. Taylor. 4. The border or part adjacent to the line of division; the beginning or early part; as, in the edge of evening. ``On the edge of winter.'' --Milton. Edge joint (Carp.), a joint formed by two edges making a corner. Edge mill, a crushing or grinding mill in which stones roll around on their edges, on a level circular bed; -- used for ore, and as an oil mill. Called also Chilian mill. Edge molding (Arch.), a molding whose section is made up of two curves meeting in an angle. Edge plane. (a) (Carp.) A plane for edging boards. (b) (Shoemaking) A plane for edging soles. Edge play, a kind of swordplay in which backswords or cutlasses are used, and the edge, rather than the point, is employed. Edge rail. (Railroad) (a) A rail set on edge; -- applied to a rail of more depth than width. (b) A guard rail by the side of the main rail at a switch. --Knight. Edge railway, a railway having the rails set on edge. Edge stone, a curbstone. Edge tool. (a) Any tool instrument having a sharp edge intended for cutting. (b) A tool for forming or dressing an edge; an edging tool. To be on edge, to be eager, impatient, or anxious. To set the teeth on edge, to cause a disagreeable tingling sensation in the teeth, as by bringing acids into contact with them. --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Edge Edge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Edged; p. pr. & vb. n. Edging.] 1. To furnish with an edge as a tool or weapon; to sharpen. To edge her champion's sword. --Dryden. 2. To shape or dress the edge of, as with a tool. 3. To furnish with a fringe or border; as, to edge a dress; to edge a garden with box. Hills whose tops were edged with groves. --Pope. 4. To make sharp or keen, figuratively; to incite; to exasperate; to goad; to urge or egg on. [Obs.] By such reasonings, the simple were blinded, and the malicious edged. --Hayward. 5. To move by little and little or cautiously, as by pressing forward edgewise; as, edging their chairs forwards. --Locke.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Edge Edge, v. i. 1. To move sideways; to move gradually; as, edge along this way. 2. To sail close to the wind. I must edge up on a point of wind. --Dryden. To edge away or off (Naut.), to increase the distance gradually from the shore, vessel, or other object. To edge down (Naut.), to approach by slow degrees, as when a sailing vessel approaches an object in an oblique direction from the windward. To edge in, to get in edgewise; to get in by degrees. To edge in with, as with a coast or vessel (Naut.), to advance gradually, but not directly, toward it.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(edges, edging, edged) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. The edge of something is the place or line where it stops, or the part of it that is furthest from the middle. We were on a hill, right on the edge of town... She was standing at the water's edge... N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. The edge of something sharp such as a knife or an axe is its sharp or narrow side. ...the sharp edge of the sword. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. If someone or something edges somewhere, they move very slowly in that direction. He edged closer to the telephone, ready to grab it... VERB: V prep/adv 4. The edge of something, especially something bad, is the point at which it may start to happen. They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction... = verge, brink N-SING: usu the N of n 5. If someone or something has an edge, they have an advantage that makes them stronger or more likely to be successful than another thing or person. The three days France have to prepare could give them the edge over England... Through superior production techniques they were able to gain the competitive edge. = advantage N-SING: oft N over n, N in n/-ing 6. If you say that someone or something has an edge, you mean that they have a powerful quality. Featuring new bands gives the show an edge... Greene's stories had an edge of realism. N-SING: a N 7. If someone's voice has an edge to it, it has a sharp, bitter, or emotional quality. But underneath the humour is an edge of bitterness... N-SING: oft N of n, N to n 8. see also cutting edge, knife-edge, leading edge 9. If you or your nerves are on edge, you are tense, nervous, and unable to relax. My nerves were constantly on edge. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 10. If you say that someone is on the edge of their seat or chair, you mean that they are very interested in what is happening or what is going to happen. PHRASE: N inflects, usu v-link PHR, v PHR 11. If something takes the edge off a situation, usually an unpleasant one, it weakens its effect or intensity. A spell of poor health took the edge off her performance. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 12. to set your teeth on edge: see tooth

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ej:

Very frequently occurs in the phrase "the edge of the sword" (Jos 10:28, et al.) from the Hebrew peh, "lip," or saphah, "lip." Ex 28:7 and 39:4 read "ends," from qatsah, "end" (the King James Version "edge"), and Jos 13:27 has "uttermost part" for the same Hebrew word (the King James Version "edge"). In Jer 31:29 and Eze 18:2, "The children's teeth are set on edge" (qahah, "to be blunt"), i.e. set hard one against another.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Cutting side (of a blade). 2. Border, rim, brim, margin, verge, brink; beginning or end, opening or close (as the case may be). 3. Keenness, sharpness, intensity, interest, animation, zest. 4. Power to wound, sharpness, sting, acrimony, bitterness, gall. II. v. a. 1. Sharpen. 2. Fringe, border, rim. 3. Move sideways, move little by little, hitch up, hitch along. III. v. n. Move sideways, move little by little, hitch along.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To excite, stimulate, or provoke; or as it is vulgarly called, to egg a man on. Fall back, fall edge; i.e. let what will happen. Some derive to egg on, from the Latin word, AGE, AGE.

Moby Thesaurus

A, acerbity, acidity, acidulousness, acme, acridity, acrimony, acuity, aculeate, acuminate, acumination, acuteness, adjoin, advantage, air line, allowance, alpha, anxious, apex, apogee, apprehensive, asperity, astringency, axis, bank, barb, beeline, befringe, beginning, bind, bite, bitingness, bitterness, blast-off, board, border, bordure, bound, boundary, bourn, brim, brink, brow, bulge, cap, causticity, chord, climax, cloud nine, coast, coign of vantage, commencement, crabbed, crawl, creation, creep, crest, crown, culmen, culmination, cuspidate, cut, cutting edge, cuttingness, dawn, deadwood, diagonal, diameter, direct line, directrix, draw, drop, edge tool, edgy, effectiveness, end, enframe, establishment, extreme limit, extremity, featheredge, fidgety, fierceness, file, flange, flank, flying start, force, foundation, frame, fresh start, fringe, go crabwise, go sideways, great-circle course, grind, grip, handicap, harshness, head start, heaven, heavens, height, hem, high noon, highest pitch, highest point, hone, ill at ease, inch, incisiveness, inside track, institution, irascible, irritable, jump, jump-off, keenness, kick-off, knife-edge, labellum, labium, labrum, lap, lateral, lateralize, lead, leading edge, ledge, limb, limbus, limit, line, lip, list, make leeway, march, marge, margin, marginate, maximum, meridian, mordacity, mordancy, mountaintop, move, mucronation, ne plus ultra, nervous, new departure, no place higher, noon, normal, odds, oilstone, on edge, on tenterhooks, oncoming, onset, opening, origin, origination, outbreak, outline, outset, peak, peevish, penetration, perimeter, periphery, perpendicular, pinnacle, piquancy, pitch, poignancy, point, pointedness, pole, prickliness, prickly, pungency, purfle, purl, radius, radius vector, ragged edge, razor-edge, reset, restive, restless, ridge, right line, rigor, rim, roughness, running start, secant, segment, selvage, send-off, sensitive, set, set off, setting in motion, setting-up, seventh heaven, severity, sharp, sharpen, sharpness, shore, shortcut, shrillness, side, sideline, sideslip, sidestep, sidle, skew, skid, skirt, sky, something extra, something in reserve, sourness, spiculate, spinosity, spire, spur, square one, start, start-off, starting point, steal, sting, straight, straight course, straight line, straight stretch, straightaway, strap, streamline, stridency, stringency, strop, summit, superiority, surround, take-off, tangent, taper, tartness, teeth, tense, thinness, thorniness, threshold, tip, tip-top, top, touchy, transversal, trenchancy, trim, upmost, upper extremity, upper hand, uppermost, uptight, urgency, utmost, vantage, vantage ground, vantage point, vector, veer, vehemence, verge, vertex, very top, violence, virulence, weapon, whet, whip hand, worm, zenith