Adjacent Words

Verge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VERGE, n. verj. [L. virga, a rod, that is, a shoot.]
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, v.i. [L. vergo.]
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.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a region marking a boundary [syn: brink, threshold, verge]
2: the limit beyond which something happens or changes; "on the verge of tears"; "on the brink of bankruptcy" [syn: verge, brink]
3: a ceremonial or emblematic staff [syn: scepter, sceptre, verge, wand]
4: a grass border along a road v
1: border on; come close to; "His behavior verges on the criminal"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, rod, measuring rod, margin, from Anglo-French, rod, area of jurisdiction, from Latin virga twig, rod, line Date: 15th century 1. a. (1) a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or symbol of office (2) obsolete a stick or wand held by a person being admitted to tenancy while he swears fealty b. the spindle of a watch balance; especially a spindle with pallets in an old vertical escapement c. the male copulatory organ of any of various invertebrates 2. a. something that borders, limits, or bounds: as (1) an outer margin of an object or structural part (2) the edge of roof covering (as tiling) projecting over the gable of a roof (3) British a paved or planted strip of land at the edge of a road ; shoulder b. brink, threshold <a country on the verge of destruction — Archibald MacLeish> II. intransitive verb (verged; verging) Date: 1787 1. to be contiguous 2. to be on the verge or border <the line where sentiment verges on mawkishness — Thomas Hardy> III. intransitive verb (verged; verging) Etymology: Latin vergere to bend, incline — more at wrench Date: 1610 1. a. of the sun to move or tend toward the horizon ; sink b. to move or extend in some direction or toward some condition <verging to a hasty decline — Edward Gibbon> 2. to be in transition or change

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 an edge or border. 2 an extreme limit beyond which something happens (on the verge of tears). 3 Brit. a grass edging of a road, flower-bed, etc. 4 Archit. an edge of tiles projecting over a gable. 5 a wand or rod carried before a bishop, dean, etc., as an emblem of office. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L virga rod 2. v.intr. 1 incline downwards or in a specified direction (the now verging sun; verge to a close). 2 (foll. by on) border on; approach closely (verging on the ridiculous). Etymology: L vergere bend, incline

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Verge Verge, n. [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 dean. 2. 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 verge descried, Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail. --M. Arnold. 6. A circumference; a circle; a ring. The inclusive verge Of golden metal that must round my brow. --Shak. 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. (Zo["o]l.) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix. Syn: Border; edge; rim; brim; margin; brink.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Verge Verge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Verged; p. pr. & vb. n. Verging.] [L. vergere to bend, turn, incline; cf. Skr. v?j 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 north. Our 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(verges, verging, verged) 1. If you are on the verge of something, you are going to do it very soon or it is likely to happen or begin very soon. The country was on the verge of becoming prosperous and successful... Carole was on the verge of tears. = brink PREP-PHRASE: v-link PREP -ing/n 2. The verge of a road is a narrow piece of ground by the side of a road, which is usually covered with grass or flowers. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use shoulder) N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Rod, staff, mace. 2. Edge, brink, border, margin, rim, brim, confine, limit, skirt. 3. Eve, brink, edge, point. 4. Arbor (of a watch-balance), spindle. II. v. n. 1. Tend, incline, slope, lean, trend, bear. 2. Border, approach, be near, tend, incline, tend toward.

Moby Thesaurus

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