I. ˈvərj, ˈvə̄j, ˈveij noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin virga twig, rod, streak, stripe — more at whisk
1.
a.
(1) : a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or as a symbol of office
(2) obsolete : a stick or wand held by a person being admitted to tenacy while he swears fealty
b.
(1) : the spindle of a watch balance ; especially : a spindle with pallets in an old vertical escapement
(2) or verge watch : a watch with a vertical escapement
c. : the male intromittent organ of any of various invertebrates
d.
(1) : a needle guide in a stocking machine
(2) : a bobbin guide in a lace machine
2.
a. : something that borders, limits, or bounds: as
(1) : an outer often decorated or inscribed margin of an object or structural part
electric candles … around the verge between walls and ceiling — Clifton Daniel
(2) obsolete : an enclosing band : circlet , ring
the inclusive verge of golden metal that must round my brow — Shakespeare
also : rim , brim
(3) : the outermost edge or part of the edge of an extended area
a row of white palings, which marked the verge of the heath — Thomas Hardy
the southern verge of the Lake District — E.B.Ford
the verge of the sea
(4) : the bottom or usually the upper margin of a precipice
the child crept to the edge, and was balanced on the very verge — Richard Jefferies
(5) : the edge of a bed or border especially of flowers
(6) : a strip of vegetation adjoining a walk, road, or railway line
grass verges also lose their correct level above the path — Gardeners' Chronicle
(7) : horizon
the sky was clear from verge to verge — Thomas Hardy
(8) : the edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof
(9) Britain : the paved, unpaved, or planted shoulder of a road or walk
the graveled verges of the path — Lionel Shapiro
the road narrows and … the edges of the verges are not surfaced — R.J.P.Mortished
b. : the point marking the beginning of a new or different state, condition, or action : brink , threshold
the country was on the verge of bankruptcy — London Calling
on the verge of asking to be relieved — John Mason Brown
vocabulary and grammar are both bad to the verge of illiteracy — M.M.Rossi
c. : the outermost margin or marginal area of a state, concept, class, or jurisdiction : fringe
the mob operates on the verge of the confidence rackets — D.W.Maurer
not enough that a statute goes to the verge of constitutional power — O.W.Holmes †1935
3.
a.
(1) : the area or limit within 12 miles of the place of the court of an English sovereign formerly delimited as under the king's peace
(2) : either of two former English courts under the special jurisdiction of the lord steward and marshal of the king's household
b.
(1) obsolete : the area of application of a category or concept : range , scope
(2) obsolete : the entities that fall within the area of a category or concept : class
(3) obsolete : control , jurisdiction
c. : the actual area covered by or the immediate environs of a place
4. : the scope permitted by a limiting line or condition
anyone who has figured prominently in the social consciousness … should be given verge and room — Allan Nevins
Synonyms: see border
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to provide with a verge : border , edge , trim
shores … verged with floating lawns of … aquatic plants — William Bartram
2. : to constitute the verge of : act as a border for
a file of trees verging the road — Richard Wilbur
intransitive verb
1. : to be in the next or neighboring place : be contiguous
2. : to be on the verge : be at or approach the border or start of condition, state, or event
a personality who at least verged on greatness — George Woodcock
a courage that verged on foolhardiness — Agnes M. Cleaveland
already verging on old age — W.H.Hudson †1922
III. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin vergere to bend, incline — more at wrench
1.
a. of the sun : to incline toward the horizon : sink
b. : to move, extend, or incline in a particular direction or toward a point, goal, or condition
the hill verges to the north
the declining civilization verges to its fall — A.J.Toynbee
2. : to be in or as if in transition from one state to another : be in the process of changing or merging
gradations from azures to hues verging on black — H.E.Riesebery