edge
/ɛd͡ʒ/ noun, verb, proper noun
- noun The boundary line of a surface.
- noun (geometry) A one-dimensional face of a polytope. In particular, the joining line between two vertices of a polygon; the place where two faces of a polyhedron meet.
- noun An advantage. “I have the edge on him.”
- noun (also figuratively) The thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument, such as an ax, knife, sword, or scythe; that which cuts as an edge does, or wounds deeply, etc. “Speaking with a metallic edge to her voice.”
- noun A sharp terminating border; a margin; a brink; an extreme verge. “The cup is right on the edge of the table.”
- noun Sharpness; readiness or fitness to cut; keenness; intenseness of desire. “After the timeout there was a new edge to the team's play.”
- noun The border or part adjacent to the line of division; the beginning or early part (of a period of time) “in the edge of evening”
- noun (cricket) A shot where the ball comes off the edge of the bat, often unintentionally.
- verb (transitive) To move an object slowly and carefully in a particular direction. “He edged the book across the table.”
- verb (intransitive) To move slowly and carefully in a particular direction. “He edged away from her.”
- verb (usually in the form 'just edge') To win by a small margin.
- verb (cricket, transitive) To hit the ball with an edge of the bat, causing a fine deflection.
- verb (transitive) To trim the margin of a lawn where the grass meets the sidewalk, usually with an electric or gas-powered lawn edger.
- verb (transitive) To furnish with an edge; to construct an edging.
- verb (transitive) To furnish with an edge, as a tool or weapon; to sharpen.
- verb (transitive) To form a border to; to enclose, to border.
- noun (scouting, education) Explain, demonstrate, guide, enable; an educating method.
- noun (gridiron football) Notation for an edge rusher.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun (computing) Microsoft Edge.
Synonyms
advantage gain brink boundary lip margin rim verge termination line goon border bound sharpness inch adjoin abut march butt butt against butt on
Etymology
From Middle English egge, from Old English eċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aggju, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).
See also Dutch egge, German Ecke, Danish æg, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish egg; also Welsh hogi (“to sharpen, hone”), Latin aciēs (“sharp”), acus (“needle”), Latvian ašs, ass (“sharp”), Ancient Greek ἀκίς (akís, “needle”), ἀκμή (akmḗ, “point”), and Persian آس (âs, “grinding stone”)).
English topographic surname, derived from the noun edge. Compare Eck.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument; as, the edge of an ax, knife, sword, or scythe. Hence, figuratively, that which cuts as an edge does, or wounds deeply, etc. He which hath the sharp sword with two edges. Rev. ii. 12.
- noun Any sharp terminating border; a margin; a brink; extreme verge; as, the edge of a table, a precipice.
- verb To furnish with an edge as a tool or weapon; to sharpen.
- verb To shape or dress the edge of, as with a tool.
Etymology [OE. eg, egge, AS. ecg; akin to OHG. ekka, G. ecke, Icel. & Sw. egg, Dan. eg, and to L. acies, Gr. a edge. Egg, v. t., Eager, Ear spike of corn, Acute.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “edge”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details