I. ˈvərj 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 ; verg·ing )
Date: 1787
1. : to be contiguous
2. : to be on the verge or border
the line where sentiment verge s on mawkishness — Thomas Hardy
III. intransitive verb
( verged ; verg·ing )
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