I. ˈhej noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hegge, from Old English hecg; akin to Old English haga hedge, hawthorn, Old High German hag hedge, hedged-in enclosure, heckis hedge, Old Norse heggr bird cherry (tree), Latin caulae sheepfold, colum sieve, Welsh cae field, Cornish kē hedge, fence
1.
a. : a fence or boundary formed by a row of shrubs or low trees planted close together
white farmhouses with faded red barns and fields bordered with hedges of green — Gordon Webber
b. : any fence or wall marking a boundary or forming a barrier
the high stone hedge … encircled the enclosure — A.L.Rowse
2.
a. : a line or array forming a barrier or marking a boundary
pikemen … present a hedge of metal points from which any cavalry would flinch — Tom Wintringham
b. : a protective or defensive barrier
regarded it as the main function of their existence to raise a hedge around the law — F.W.Farrar
3.
a. : a means of protection or defense — usually used with against
proponents of using fluorides as a hedge against tooth decay — New York Times
b. : any of several means of protection against financial loss: as
(1) : a bet made against the side or chance already bet on
(2) : a purchase or sale made not primarily for income or profit but as protection against a known risk
realization that common stocks are the best hedge against inflation — C.E.Merrill
(3) : a purchase or sale of commodity futures made to offset the risk of loss from market fluctuations
4. : a statement so qualified or calculated as to be noncommittal or ambiguous
bureaucratic literature … festooned with hedges and qualifications — Fortune
5. : osage orange
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English heggen, from hegge, n.
transitive verb
1. : to enclose with or separate by a hedge : fence with a row of shrubs or low trees planted close together
its modest lot is hedged by … hibiscus — Frederick Simpich
2.
a. : to enclose as if with a hedge : encircle
meandering through an immense meadow hedged by forest — S.H.Holbrook
a small dance floor crowded with couples and hedged with waiting men — Edmund Wilson
b. : to surround so as to form a protective barrier : guard , protect
remembered that no great divinity hedges this sovereign — Graham Greene
c. : to surround so as to prevent freedom of movement or action : fence , hem , restrict
the bulk and pressure of the rules that hedge him on every side — B.N.Cardozo
— often used with about or in
are hedged about with many special conditions, limitations, and restrictions — F.L.Mott
hedged themselves in with a thousand dos and don'ts — A.L.Kroeber
3. : to obstruct with or as if with a hedge or barrier hinder
the difficulties which hedged all approach — D.G.Mitchell
4. obsolete : to introduce and include within something larger or more important — used with in or into
when you are sent on an errand, be sure to hedge in some business of your own — Jonathan Swift
5.
a. : to reduce or eliminate the risk of (a bet) by making a bet against the side or chance already bet on
is hedging its bets in the all-important diplomatic poker game — Newsweek
b. : to protect oneself against financial loss from
were advising clients to hedge the imminent inflation by buying farmland — Forum
6. : to form into a hedge or barrier
ye are hedged on the borders of my path — Adah I. Menken
7. : to qualify or modify so as to allow for contingencies or avoid rigid commitment
when he states a position, he is apt to hedge it round with careful qualifications — Colm Brogan
intransitive verb
1. : to plant or trim hedges
2.
a. : to evade risk or responsibility by avoiding an open or decisive course : trim
having found … every incentive to cower and cringe and hedge and no incentive whatever to stand upright as a man — Van Wyck Brooks
b. : to qualify or modify a statement or position so as to allow for contingencies or avoid rigid commitment
the paper for which he was responsible never hedged on public questions — H.K.Rowe
no mathematician is infallible; he may make mistakes; but he must not hedge — A.S.Eddington
3.
a. : to protect oneself financially — usually used with against
in order to hedge against inflation and save … a part of one's possessions — George Katona
b. : to reduce or eliminate the risk of a bet by making a bet against the side or chance already bet on
c. : to buy or sell commodity futures as a protection against loss due to price fluctuations
d. : to buy or sell forward exchange as a protection against loss due to foreign-exchange fluctuations
4. : to form a hedge or barrier
invested with the sanctity that once hedged about a king — Dumas Malone
III. adjective
Etymology: hedge (I)
1. : of, for, or relating to a hedge
a hedge corner
a hedge plant
hedge selling on the commodity exchanges
2. : born, living, or made near or as if near hedges : roadside
a hedge parson
a hedge marriage
3. : belonging to an inferior grade or class : third-rate
a hedge tavern