Wiktionary

verge

See also: Verge and vergé

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Middle French verge (“rod or wand of office”), hence "scope, territory dominated", from Latin virga (“shoot, rod stick”), of unknown origin. Earliest attested sense in English is now-obsolete meaning "male member, penis" (c.1400). Modern sense is from the notion of 'within the verge' (1509, also as Anglo-Norman dedeinz la verge), i.e. "subject to the Lord High Steward's authority" (as symbolized by the rod of office), originally a 12-mile radius round the royal court, which sense shifted to "the outermost edge of an expanse or area." Doublet of virga.

Noun

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verge (plural verges)

  1. A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.
    1. (UK, historical) The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.
  2. An edge or border.
    • 1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy:
      Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favourable to it, the theory […] implies an absurdity.
    • 1852, Matthew Arnold, Stanzas from Carnac:
      But on the horizon's verge descried,
      Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
      It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.
    1. (UK, Western Australia, New Zealand) The grassy area between the footpath and the street; a tree lawn; a grassed strip running alongside either side of an outback road.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:verge
      • 2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 129:
        The shoulders are graded and the verges cleared well back to lessen the chances of hitting stray stock.
    2. (figuratively) An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.
      I was on the verge of tears.
      • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 113:
        The tremendous tragedy in which he had been involved – it was evident he was a fugitive from Weybridge - had driven him to the very verge of his reason.
  3. (obsolete) The phallus.
    1. (zoology) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc.
  4. An old measure of land: a virgate or yardland.
  5. A circumference; a circle; a ring.
  6. (architecture) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.[1]
  8. (architecture) The eaves or edge of the roof that projects over the gable of a roof.
    • 1885, Edward S. Morse, Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings:
      The smaller ribs of tiles that run down to the eaves, along the ridges in a hip-roof, or border the verge in a gable-roof , often terminate in some ornamental tile in high-relief .
  9. (horology) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement.
Derived terms
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Translations
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phallus — see phallus

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Latin vergō (“to bend, turn, tend toward, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *werg- (“to turn”), from a root *wer- (“to turn, bend”) (compare versus); strongly influenced by the above noun.

Verb

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verge (third-person singular simple present verges, present participle verging, simple past and past participle verged)

  1. (intransitive) To be or come very close; to border; to approach.
    Eating blowfish verges on insanity.
  2. To bend or incline; to tend downward; to slope.
Derived terms
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Translations
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References

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  1. ^ 1845, Oxford Glossary of Architecture

Catalan

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Catalan verge~vergen, from Latin virginem.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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verge m or f (masculine and feminine plural verges or vèrgens)

  1. virgin
    Synonym: poncell

Noun

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verge m or f by sense (plural verges or vèrgens)

  1. virgin
    Synonyms: poncell, poncella

References

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Dutch

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Verb

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verge

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of vergen

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French verge (“rod or wand of office”), hence "scope, territory dominated", from Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga (“shoot, rod stick”), of uncertain origin, but probably from a Proto-Indo-European *wisgeh₂ (“flexible rod or stick”). Doublet of vergue.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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verge f (plural verges)

  1. rod
  2. penis (male sexual organ)
    Synonym: pénis
  3. (Canada) yard

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Spanish: verja

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Friulian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Vulgar Latin *virdia (see for cognates), from syncopation of Latin viridia, neuter plural of viridis (“green”).

Noun

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verge f (plural vergis)

  1. cabbage
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Latin

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Verb

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verge

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of vergō

Lithuanian

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Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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vergè

  1. locative singular of vérgas (“slave”)

Noun

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vérge

  1. vocative singular of vérgas (“slave”)

Middle French

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Etymology 1

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From Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga.

Noun

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verge f (plural verges)

  1. rod; stick; staff
    • Exodus, the Bible
      Moyse ietta en la terre la verge qu'il tenoit dans sa main […] elle fust soudain changé en serpent
      Moses throw on the ground the staff that he held in is hand […] suddenly, it changes into a serpent
Descendants
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Etymology 2

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From Old French verge, vierge, virge, from virgene, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō.

Noun

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verge f (plural verges)

  1. female virgin (female person who has never had sexual intercourse)
Descendants
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Norwegian Bokmål

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈvêr.ɡə/
  • (flapped rhotic) IPA(key): [ˈʋæ̂ɾ.ɡə]
  • (uvular rhotic) IPA(key): [ˈʋæ̂ʁ.ɡə]

Etymology 1

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From Old Norse verja. Compare Danish værge, Faroese verja, Icelandic verja, Swedish värja.

Verb

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verge (present tense verger, past tense verga or verget, past participle verga or verget)

  1. (transitive) to protect
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From the verb.

Noun

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verge m (definite singular vergen, indefinite plural verger, definite plural vergene)

  1. (literary, rare) a protector, defender
  2. (law) a guardian, conservator; a person appointed to manage the affairs of others
    Synonym: formynder

Noun

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verge n (definite singular verget, indefinite plural verg, definite plural verga or vergene)

  1. weapon used for defense
  2. custody
    Synonyms: varetekt, forvaring

See also

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References

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Old French

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Etymology 1

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From a shortening of earlier forms virgine, virgene, from Latin virginem, accusative singular of virgō, possibly a borrowing.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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verge oblique singular, f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)

  1. virgin (one who has never had sex)

Adjective

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verge m (oblique and nominative feminine singular verge)

  1. virgin; virginal
Usage notes
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  • Often capitalized as la Verge when referring to the Virgin Mary
Descendants
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Etymology 2

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From Latin virga.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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verge oblique singular, f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)

  1. rod; stick; staff
Descendants
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