From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Verge \Verge\, 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 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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Verge \Verge\, verb (used without an object) [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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a region marking a boundary [syn: {brink}, {threshold}]
2: the limit beyond which something happens or changes; "on the verge of tears"; "on the brink of bankruptcy" [syn: {brink}]
3: a ceremonial or emblematic staff [syn: {scepter}, {sceptre}, {wand}]
4: a grass border along a road
verb
1: border on; come close to; "His behavior verges on the criminal"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
174 Moby Thesaurus words for "verge": about to, abut, abut on, adjoin, aim, approach, armory, badge, badge of office, badges, bank, baton, be contiguous, be in contact, bear, befringe, bend to, bias, bind, blazonry, board, border, border line, border on, bordure, bound, boundaries, boundary, bounds, bourns, brassard, brim, brink, brow, butt, button, cap and gown, chain, chain of office, circumference, circumscription, class ring, coast, cockade, collar, communicate, compass, conduce, confines, conjoin, connect, contribute, coordinates, cross, decoration, dispose, draw, dress, eagle, edge, edges, emblems, enframe, ensigns, extend, fasces, featheredge, figurehead, flange, fleur-de-lis, frame, fringe, fringes, go, hammer and sickle, have a tendency, head, hem, heraldry, hold a heading, incline, insignia, join, labellum, labium, labrum, lap, lapel pin, lead, lean, ledge, lie by, limb, limbus, limitations, limits, line, lip, list, livery, look to, mace, mantle, march, marches, marge, margin, medal, metes, metes and bounds, mortarboard, move, neighbor, old school tie, outline, outlines, outskirts, pale, parameters, perimeter, periphery, pin, point, point to, purfle, purl, ragged edge, ready to, redound to, regalia, rim, ring, rose, school ring, selvage, serve, set, set off, set toward, shamrock, shore, show a tendency, side, sideline, sigillography, skirt, skirts, skull and crossbones, sphragistics, staff, stand by, steer, stretch, surround, swastika, tartan, tend, tend to, tend to go, thistle, threshold, tie, touch, trench, trend, trim, turn, uniform, verge on, verge upon, verges, wand, warp, work toward
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0