▪ I. edge, n.
(ɛdʒ)
Forms: 1 ecg(g, 3–7 egge, (3 agge, hegge, 5–6 eg(e, 6–7 edg), 5– edge.
[OE. ęcg str. fem. = OS. eggia (MDu. egghe, Du. egge) edge, corner, point, OHG. ekka edge, point (MHG. ecke edge, point, corner, mod.Ger. ecke fem., eck neut., corner), ON. egg edge:—OTeut. *agjâ, f. OAryan root *ak, whence many words of cognate sense, e.g. L. acies, Gr. ἀκίς point; cf. ail n., awn, ear n.2 (The sense ‘corner’, which has been developed in Ger. and Du., is wanting in Eng.)]
I. A cutting edge.
1. a. The thin sharpened side of the blade of a cutting instrument or weapon; opposed to the ‘back’ or blunt side; or to the ‘flat’ or broad surface of the blade. Often associated with point (OE. ord). the edge of the sword: used rhetorically for ‘the sword’ as the typical instrument of slaughter or of conquest.
| Beowulf 1549 (Gr.) Breost net..wið ord and wið ecge ingang forstod. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xxi. 24 Hiᵹ feallað on swurdes ecge [c 1160 egge]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 He wile smite..mid egge and cleuen..oðer mid orde and pilten. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 899 Beth rather to hym cause of flat than egge. c 1450 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 735 Hoc acumen, Hec acies, a neg. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. i. 20 Some kindes of salt..doe giue such temper to the edges of weapons. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 150, I will..giue to th' edge o' th' Sword his Wife. 1611 Bible Gen. xxxiv. 26 They slew Hamor and Shechem..with the edge of the sword. ― Hebr. xi. 34 [They] escaped the edge of the sword. 1648 Milton Tenure Kings Wks. 1738 I. 317 And what restraint the Sword comes to at length, having both edge and point, if any Sceptic will needs doubt, let him feel. 1797 Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 9 A tool with a fine edge may do mischief. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth II. 20 When it was steel coat to frieze mantle, the thieves knew..whether swords had edges or no. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 54 The King by the edge of the sword changed himself..into a King according to the laws of England. |
¶ humorously misused.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 173 To be in perill of my life with the edge of a featherbed. 1599 ― Hen. V, iii. vi. 50 And let not Bardolphs vitall thred bee cut With edge of Penny-Cord. |
b. poet. A cutting weapon or tool; in
ME. also a lance.
| Beowulf 2876 (Gr.) Þæt he hyne sylfne ᵹewræc ana mid ecge. c 1205 Lay. 5605 He hauede monie Alemains{revsc} mid agge [1275 hegge] to-heowen. c 1300 K. Alis. 1271 He griputh in hond a spere..Thorughout the bruny creopeth the egge. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1104 Nauþer to cout ne to kerue, with knyf ne wyth egge. c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 19 No flessh ne wyste offence of egge or spere. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. v. 113 Men and lads Stain all your edges on me. 1791 Cowper Iliad xxi. 25 On all sides Down came his edge. |
c. The sharpness given to a blade by whetting.
| c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5147 His naked swerd in hond he bare, The egge was mich wered a-wey. 1517 R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 21 Tooles made of Iron that never lese ther egge by myracle of Seynt Nicholas. 1850 Blackie æschylus I. Pref. 10 It is for lack of skill in the workman, not from want of edge in the tool. Mod. The knife has no edge. Put an edge on this knife. |
2. fig. a. With direct reference to 1, 1 c. Power to ‘cut’ or wound; keen effectiveness. of language: Trenchant Force (
cf. point). Of appetite, passion, desires, enjoyment, etc.: Keenness. Phrases (used also
lit. in 1, 1 c),
† to add an edge to;
to put, set an edge upon;
to dull, blunt the edge of, etc.
not to put too fine an edge upon it: to use ‘blunt’, outspoken language.
to give (a person) the rough edge of one's tongue, to abuse, revile.
| a 1593 H. Smith Serm. (1866) II. 88 To add an edge unto our prayers. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, v. v. 35 Abate the edge of Traitors, Gracious Lord. 1596 ― Tam. Shr. i. ii. 73 She moues me not, or not remoues, at least, Affections edge in me. 1603 Florio Montaigne (1634) 503 Faults and contrary successes give it [love] edge and grace. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 29 To take away The edge of that dayes celebration. 1625 Donne Serm. 195 The apostle there changes the edge of his argument. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xi. 179 Take not too much at once, lest thy brain turn edge. 1661 Bramhall Just Vind. iv. 87 The edge and validity of it [ecclesiastical law] did proceed from authority royal. 1704 Col. Rec. Penn. II. 142 Pleads reasons y⊇ Edge of which..has wore off. 1775 Sheridan Rivals 1st Prol., No tricking here, to blunt the edge of law. 1830 T. Hamilton C. Thornton (1845) 79 Exercise..had given more than its wonted edge to my appetite. 1846 Prescott Ferd. & Is. II. vii. 416 Several circumstances operated to sharpen the edge of intolerance. 1870 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 286 The marble majesty of Calantha [in Ford's ‘Broken Heart’]..gives force and edge to the lofty passion of the catastrophe. 1879 Lowell Poet. Wks. 375 Yet knows to put an edge upon his speech. a 1891 Mod. He is, not to put too fine an edge upon it, a thoroughpaced scoundrel. 1915 Wodehouse Psmith, Journalist (1923) xiii. 90 It will give our output precisely the edge it requires. 1932 H. Crane Let. 31 Mar. (1965) 405 Dangers that give the same edge to life here that the mountains give to the horizon. 1936 W. Holtby South Riding iii. iii. 175 That girl gives them the rough edge of her tongue. 1939 W. H. Baumer Sports as taught and played at West Point 348 Often talk by the trainer on any other subject than the game will take off the ‘edge’. 1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise i. 14 It took the edge off the appetite. 1946 Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 103 The tone is full and incisive, with a distinct edge to it—perhaps rather too distinct. 1957 Essays & Studies X. 42 ‘Then came still Evening on.’ The stately order takes the edge off the homely expression ‘Evening came on’. |
† b. Of persons: Ardour, keenness in pursuit of an object; in weaker sense, inclination, liking.
| 1581 Savile Tacitus' Hist. ii. xlii. (1591) 78 The Othonians, laying aside all edge to fight. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learning ii. 112 He must take heed he shew..some sparkles of liberty, spirit, and edge. a 1638 Mede Ep. Hayn xii. Wks. 752, I have little or no edge to contend with one I think perswaded. 1642 Rogers Naaman 183, I have so small hope to prevaile with men, because I goe against their edge. Ibid. 390 As for others, their edge is not so much toward them. 1868 W. Collins Moonstone I. v. 55 ‘Betteredge, your edge is better than ever...’ ‘He's a wonderful man for his age.’ |
† c. to give an edge to,
set an edge upon (a person): to stimulate, incite.
Obs. (
Cf. edge,
egg vbs.)
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 27 Giue him a further edge. 1609 Holland Livy vi. xxviii. 237 The memoriall of that late..losse sustained might rather stirre them up and set an edge upon them. 1626 W. Sclater Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 274 What is wanting to give us an edge to the duty. |
d. Of temper (
cf. edgy a. 4).
| 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 224 The company commanders found him with rather a sharp edge to his temper. |
e. to have an (or the) edge on,
to get the edge on (and similar phrases with
over): to have a grudge against (
quot. 1896); to have (or acquire) an advantage over. Also used without a following
on or
over in sense ‘advantage, superiority’.
orig. U.S.| 1896 Daily News 18 Mar. 7/5, I expect that when I am gone, especially from your own people, who always had an edge on me, and for no reason. 1911 C. E. Mulford Bar-20 Days (1921) xiv. 147 I'll do anything to get th'edge on that thief. 1914 Joyce Dubliners 48 She had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening. 1929 Publishers' Weekly 14 Sept. 1060 Here we have the edge on our rivals, not only because of our superior location, but also because we are reputedly reckless about reducing prices. 1932 Latimer Co. News-Democrat (Wilburton, Okla.) 19 Feb. 1/6 Ray Tucker of the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance gives Murray the edge over Roosevelt in the North Dakota primary. 1932 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 2 May 1/4 (heading) Herriot's party obtains edge and is held sure to win. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind liv. 943 Belle's got the edge on you..because she's a kind-hearted, good-natured soul. 1946 Wodehouse Money in Bank xxiv. 214 Jeff..thought he saw now where she had the edge on Myrtle Shoesmith. She was a quicker starter. 1949 M. Mead Male & Female xv. 316 He has to compete..with girls who have an edge in almost all the activities for which reward is given. 1952 Times 19 Dec., Scottish schools also had the edge on the English and Welsh in the matter of pullovers and sweaters. 1953 G. S. Coffin Acol & New Point Count 11 If you hold an average hand..it has no edge over other hands around the table. 1957 New Yorker 12 Jan. 79 The Cincinnati Daily Enquirer is solid No. 1 right down the line. Including a 21,000 edge in City Zone circulation..a healthy lead in Retail Display Linage. 1958 Daily Express 15 July 6/6 Nancy Mitford's great edge is that she never went to school. 1959 Listener 23 Apr. 738/3 The edge was with Mrs. Durran who goes through to the final. 1959 Spectator 8 May 654/2 Goat's milk..makes a yoghourt which, therapeutically speaking, has the edge over any made from cow's milk. 1960 Times 14 June 16/1 They still hold the edge, especially with Statham in his present form. 1966 Listener 3 Mar. 299/2 Labour's special relationship with the working classes..was supposed to give it an edge over the tories. |
f. The state of being drunk.
U.S. colloq.| 1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side Paradise (1921) i. iii. 117 We'll drink to Fred Sloane, who has a fine, distinguished edge. 1925 E. Hemingway In our Time iv. 60 ‘How do you feel?’..‘Swell. I've just got a good edge on.’ |
† 3. fig. Phrases (with direct reference to sense 1),
back and edge: adjoining, close by.
fall back, fall edge: ‘come what may’, in any case.
on edge (said of
ears,
heart,
teeth; also,
to set): full of eagerness, all agog, ready.
| 1580 T. M. Pref. Verses in Baret Alv. viii, Learned Athens did..set his teeth on edge, such floures to pull As best him likte, to store his skilfull brest. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 43 With harts on edg To be aveng'd each on his enimy. 1591 Lyly Sapho iv. iv, You will set mine eares on edge with sweet words. 1641–2 Hotham in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1721) I. 496 Fall back! fall edge! I will go doun. 1699 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., Fall back fall edge, or come what will. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) VII. 135 The people who live back and edge. |
4. a. to set (a person's) teeth on edge: ‘to cause an unpleasant tingling in the teeth’ (J.). Also
fig. Also (rarely)
out of edge, in same sense.
It is not quite clear what is the precise notion originally expressed in this phrase. The earlier expression was
to edge the teeth (see
edge v. 3); in the passage
Ezek. xviii. 2 the Vulgate has
obstupescere to be benumbed.
| 1382 Wyclif Ezek. xviii. 2 And the teeth of sones wexen on egge. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxxxii. (1495) 723 A grene grape greueth the rotes and synewes of the teeth wyth colde soo that they make the teeth an egge. 1535 Coverdale Jer. xxxi. 29 Y⊇ fathers haue eaten a sower grape, and the childrens teth are set on edge. 1578 Lyte Dodoens v. xx. 576 The same eaten rawe are good against the teeth being set on edge. 1585 J. Higins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 428 Dentium stupor, a bluntness of the teeth, when with eating of..sowre things they be out of edge. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 133 That would set my teeth nothing an edge, Nothing so much as mincing Poetrie. 1741 Monro Anat. (ed. 3) 162 How come they..to be set on Edge by Acids. 1839 Carlyle Chartism iv. (1858) 20 The strong have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the weak are set on edge. |
b. to be on (occas. upon or on the) edge: to be excited or irritable (
cf. 2 d).
| 1872 W. Minto Man. Eng. Prose Lit. ii. ii. 261 Whitgift's strenuous hostility and unsparing rigour of argument set his opponent on edge. 1900 Daily News 4 Oct. 6/1 For me there was to be no sleep far into that night, for my nerves were upon edge. 1908 R. W. Chambers Firing Line v. 56 I'm all on edge over this landscape scheme. 1924 J. Buchan Three Hostages xvi. 227 His manner had not the ease it used to have. He seemed on the edge about something. 1932 Daily Express 29 June 6/2 Her nerves were plainly on edge. 1938 S. V. Benét Thirteen o'Clock 290 He felt fagged and on the edge already. 1951 J. B. Priestley Festival at Farbridge iii. i. 394 Laura had in fact worked much too hard, and now she was altogether too fine-drawn and too much on edge. |
c. over the edge: insane.
| 1929 E. Bowen Last September iii. xvii. 217 He would go over the edge, quite mad. |
† 5. As rendering of L.
acies:
a. Line of battle.
b. Keenness of eyesight.
Obs.| 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. iv. 2 In the Edge in the felde they slewe aboute a foure thousande men. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. 61 The wise Contriver hath drawn the pictures and outsides of things softly and amiably unto the natural edge of our eyes. |
II. Things resembling a cutting edge.
*
with regard to sharpness.
6. a. The crest of a sharply pointed ridge;
freq. in topographical names, as Swirrel Edge, Striding Edge). (More frequently, however, names of this kind denote escarpments terminating a plateau, and therefore are to be referred to sense 11;
e.g. Millstone Edge, Bamford Edge; in
Sc. edge usually denotes merely a ridge, watershed.)
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 451 Bot þe hyȝest of þe eggez vnhuled wern a lyttel. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. viii. 55 The worthy peple Lydiane..remane apoune the edge of the Hetruscane hyllis. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 371 At Sowtra ege thair merchis than tha maid. |
b. A perilous path on a narrow ridge;
fig. a sharp dividing line; a critical position or moment. (Sometimes with notion of 1;
cf. ‘to walk on a razor's edge’,
Gr. ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκµῆς. See also
razor n. 1 b.)
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 170 You knew he walk'd..on an edge More likely to fall in, then to get o're. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 276 That voyce..heard so oft..on the perilous edge Of battel when it rag'd. 1718 Pope Iliad x. 197 Each..Greek..Stands on the sharpest edge of death or life. |
7. a. The line in which two surfaces of a solid object meet abruptly;
spec. in Geometry, the line of meeting of two faces of a polyhedron.
| 1823 H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 149 Terminal solid angles replaced by two planes, resting on the obtuse edges of the pyramids. 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 30 The edges formed by the intersections of pairs of adjacent faces. |
b. Skating.
(to cut, do) the inside or outside edge: a particular form of fancy skating on the inner
or outer edge of the skate-iron.
| 1772 Jones Skating 22 The inside edge is sometimes required in performing some of the more difficult manœuvres. Ibid. 37 [The Dutch] travel on the outside edge. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iii. i, Learning to cut the outside edge on skaits that have no edge to cut with. 1880 Vandervell & Witham Figure-Skating 137 The inside edge backwards..may be taken up from the turn on both feet by continuing backwards. Mod. Can you do the outside edge? |
c. edge of regression: see
regression 3 b.
**
as contrasted with a broad surface.
8. a. Of a thin flat object: One of the narrow surfaces showing the ‘thickness’ or smallest dimension, as distinguished from the broad surfaces.
on edge (formerly often written an edge): resting upon the edge, placed ‘edgewise’.
† to plough the soil up on an edge: to plough it into ridges.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 72 The Board is set an edge with one end in the Bench-screw. 1708 Mortimer Husb. 50 Harrow it as you plow it up, but then..you must speedily plow it up an edge again. 1784 De Lolme Eng. Const. ii. xvii. 276 Ran the edge of his hand with great quickness along his neck. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 14 Fangs of crystal set on edge in his demesne. Mod. A plate set up on edge. The shilling has a milled edge. |
† b. fig. Phrase,
to get by the edges: to get (information) indirectly or imperfectly.
Obs.| 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. ii. 45 They had got by the Edges a little Intimation of the then Prince of Orange's undertaking. |
c. spec. Of a book: One of the three surfaces left uncovered by the binding; called severally
top edge,
bottom edge, and
fore edge.
| Mod. The top edge of the book is gilt; the others are left white. |
9. The rim (of a hollow vessel).
| c 1400 Beryn 587 The egge of the panne met with his shyn. 1459 Inv. in Paston Lett. 335 I. 468 Vj bolles with oon coverede of silver, the egges gilt. |
III. The boundary of a surface.
10. a. The line which forms the boundary of any surface; a border, verge. By extension, that portion of the surface of any object, or of a country, district, etc., adjacent to its boundary. (
Cf. border.)
In geographical sense formerly often used where
frontier or
boundary would now be preferred.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §46 And sett þou þere þe degre of þe mone according wiþ þe egge of þe label. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 129 Ley þe bouȝt on þe vttur egge of þe table. 1494 Fabyan vi. cxcvi. 202 The abbey of Leof, besyde Hereforde, in the egge of Walys. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xl. 12 The edge before the chambres was one cubite brode. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 9 Hereby vpon the edge of yonder Coppice. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 117 From edge to edge A th' world. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 228 Many of their Leaves parch'd about their Edges. 1732 De Foe Tour Gt. Brit. (1769) II. 181 Elestre, is a Village on the Roman Watling-street, on the very Edge of Middlesex. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. vii. (1865) 280 All this time sat upon the edge of the deck quite a different character. 1833 N. Arnott Physics II. 210 The image will be more perfect..at its middle than towards its edges. 1836 Thirlwall Greece III. xxii. 238 He..drew up his men at the water's edge. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ii. 21 The edges of the orbit are comparatively dense and strong. |
b. fig. of portions of time, seasons, etc.
| 1638 Featly Transubst. 229 Win the day in the edge of the evening. 1782 Johnson Let. 20 Mar. in Boswell, I made a journey to Staffordshire on the edge of winter. 1868 E. Waugh Sneck-Bant iv. 72 in Lanc. Gloss. (E.D.S.) We's be back again abeawt th' edge-o'-dark. |
c. That which is placed on the border of a garment, etc.;
= edging.
| 1502 Priv. Purse Exp. Eliz. York (1830) 68 Blake velvet for an edge and cuffes for the same gowne. 1552 Huloet, Edge of a fillet or roll..Tænia. 1611 Bible Ex. xxvi. 10 Fiftie loopes on the edge of the curtaine. 1856 Mrs. Gaskell Let. ? 22 July (1966) 397 The white..& the lavender edge—did you look after black, (imitation,—Cambray, or Maltese) lace. |
† d. Archit. In first
quot. rendering L.
regula ‘the shank of a Doric triglyph’ (Lewis and Short). In second
quot. app. = fillet.
Obs.| 1563 Shute Archit. C ij b, The edge which Vitruuius calleth Regula. Ibid. D j a, The lowest edge that standeth vppon Plinthus shalbe in height half a part. |
11. a. The brink or verge (of a bank or precipice).
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 383 Er vch boþom watz brurd-ful to þe bonkez eggez. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 3 The edge of the frenssh clif shold be the ende of the world yf the ylonde of brytayn ne were not. 1827 Pollok Course T. v, Toppling upon the perilous edge of Hell. 1865 Reader 3 June 619/3 In Derbyshire it nests in the rocks and ‘Edges,’ as the precipices are called. |
b. fig. on the edge of: on the point of (doing something).
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. v. 68 Will you, the Knights Shall to the edge of all extremitie Pursue each other? 1884 Church Bacon v. 114 He was now on the very edge of losing his office. |
c. fig. Often with defining word, as
absolute,
outside: the ‘limit’, the very extreme. Phr.
over the edge (see
quot. 1945).
| 1911 ‘Ian Hay’ Safety Match i. 8 Cheating again! My word, Nicky, you are the absolute edge! 1925 Wodehouse Carry on, Jeeves ix. 218, I am still blushing all over at the recollection of something she says in paragraph two... You can take it from me that it's the edge. 1945 Baker Austral. Lang. vi. 134 Over the edge (or fence), unreasonable, beyond the pale of fairness or decency. |
IV. 12. attrib. and
Comb. a. locative, as
edge-hummock,
edge-moulding,
edge-plate,
edge-teeth,
edge-way;
edge-gilt adj.; also
edge-to-edge,
attrib.;
b. objective, as
edge-cutting,
edge nailing;
c. adverbial, as
edge-view. Also
edge-coals, coals from an edge-seam;
edge-joint (see
quot.);
† edge-leam,
-lome [
OE. lóma], an edge-tool;
edge-metal (see
quots.);
edge-mill,
edge-rail,
edge-roll (see
quots.);
edge-runner, an apparatus for crushing stone, fibrous matter, etc.;
edge-seam, a layer or seam of coal that has been tilted into a nearly vertical position;
edge-shot a., (see
quot.);
edge-tone Mus., a sound-wave produced when a stream of air is deflected by an edge;
edge-wheel (see
quot.);
edge-zone (see
quot. 1902). Also
edge-tool,
-ways.
| 1854 Miller Sch. & Schm. xiv. (1860) 153 *‘Edge-coals’—those steep seams of the Mid-Lothian Coal-basin. |
| 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. (1858) 91 Do honour to any *edge-gilt vacuity in man's shape. |
| 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 241 *Edge-hummocks, that is to say, hummocks formed at the margin of floes and afterward cemented there. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-joint (Carpentry), a joint formed by two edges, forming a corner. |
| 1781 J. Hutton Tour Caves (E.D.S.) *Edgeleams, sb. pl., edge tools. |
| 1570 Levins Manip. 161 An *Edgelome, culter. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 961 The coal-seams thus upheaved [sc. at a high angle], are called *edge-metals by the miners. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 95 Edge coals, edge metals, edge seams (Sc.), highly inclined seams of coal. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-mill, an ore-grinding or oil-mill in which the stones travel on their edges. |
| 1762 Borlase in Phil. Trans. LII. 509 All the *edge-mouldings of the canopy were tore to pieces. |
| 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 493/1 For side or *edge nailing..clasp-nails..are used. |
| 1879 in Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 175/1 All along each bottom side of the body should be plated with iron..The *edge⁓plate, as this is technically called. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-rail (Railroad). a. One form of rail-road-rail, which bears the rolling stock on its edge. b. A rail placed by the side of the main rail at a switch to prevent the train from running off the track when the direction is changed. |
| Ibid. *Edge-roll, A brass wheel used hot, in running an edge ornament, on a book cover. |
| 1871 Cassell's Techn. Educator II. 267/1 The clay..is conveyed to the *edge-runners or other machinery used to pulverise it. 1883 H. G. Harris in H. J. Powell Princ. Glass-Making 46 The pieces of limestone are further crushed under a pair of ‘edge-runners’. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 463/2 Edge-runners (Chilian mills). 1891 Engineer 9 Jan. 36 Edge runner grinding mill. 1963 R. R. A. Higham Handbk. Papermaking ii. 24 Kollergang or edge-runner. This machine consists of two large circular stones, driven by a central shaft, which revolve in a metal or stone pan. |
| 1802 Playfair Illustr. Hutton. The. 236 We obtain the same information from inspecting the *edge-seams. 1805 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. I. 269 The strata..receive the appellation of edge seams, from their descending, or almost upright position in the earth. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-shot, a board with its edge planed is said to be edge-shot. |
| 1854 Woodward Mollusca ii. 162 *Edge-teeth dentated. |
| 1952 C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing vii. 259 Lined ‘*edge-to-edge’ coat in wool georgette. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 81 Edge to edge, descriptive of the planking of a carvel-built boat. 1963 C. R. Cowell et al. Inlays, Crowns & Bridges vii. 70 (caption) For an edge-to-edge bite the tip is prepared horizontally. |
| 1931 G. Jacob Orchestral Technique ix. 95 The contrast between the ‘*edge-tone’ of the trumpets and the rounder tone of the horns. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iii. 67 The breathy edge tone that we hear with the flute. |
| 1857 W. Binns Orthographic Project. iii. (1862) 22 If the paper be now turned..we shall have an *edge-view..of the plane on which the lines are drawn. |
| 1880 Mrs. Whitney Odd or Even x. 83 Trudging along on the opposite *edgeways of the soft brown, deep-rutted road. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. 774 *Edge-wheel, a wheel travelling on its edge in a circular or annular bed. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 459/2 A fold of soft tissue extending to a greater or less distance over the theca, and containing..a cavity continuous over the lip of the calicle with the cœlenteron. This fold of tissue is known as the *edge-zone. 1904 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. XIII. 22 The epitheca is that part of the skeleton secreted by the edge-zone. |
Add:
[IV.] [12.] edge connector Electronics, a connector with a row of contacts, fitted to the edge of a printed circuit board to facilitate connection between the board and external circuits.
| 1971 Electronics & Power Sept. (Suppl.) S15 (Advt.), Cinch *Edge Connectors make over 93,000,000 trouble-free connections every year. 1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects i. 36 There are so many connections to the PC board..that it was not possible to arrange for an edge connector on a board of this size. |
edge well, an oil or gas well situated near the edge of a drilling field.
| 1904 Dialect Notes II. 380 *Edge well, a well drilled on the edge of the oil pool. 1929 Petroleum Devel. & Technol. 1928–9 (Amer. Inst. Mining & Metall. Engin.: Petroleum Div.) 150 We ‘spread’ the pool, and thereby push the oil down the dip to maintain edge wells in oil long after they would normally go completely to water. 1984 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 10 Sept. 211/3 The Anadarko basin edge well is in Chickasha field. |
▸
edge city n. orig. U.S. (also with capital initials)
(a) a notional place outside the bounds of conventional society,
esp. as conceived by participants in the psychedelic drug culture of the 1960s and 1970s;
(b) Sociol. a centre of commercial and residential development situated on the outskirts of a city, usually beside a major road.
| 1968 T. Wolfe Electric Kool-aid Acid Test iv. 35 It's time to take the Prankster circus further on toward *Edge City. 1988 New Scientist 29 Sept. 68/3 Kesey hoped to reach a Zen-like state which he called ‘Edge City’ via LSD. In Edge City, he believed, it might be possible to live totally in the here and now. 1989 Atlantic Nov. 34/3 The fastest-growing kind of town in the country is one on the outer edge of a metropolitan area which has acquired an employment base... There are..several..names for them, including ‘edge cities’ and ‘technoburbs’. 1996 New Statesman 26 July 54/1 It will be the biggest example of Edge City yet built: business parks, housing and a grandiloquent new campus for the University of Greenwich. |
▪ II. edge dial. var. of
adze.
▪ III. edge, v.1 (
ɛdʒ)
Also 3–4
egge(n, 5
eggyn.
[f. edge n. The older forms of this word coincide graphically with those of
egg v., which is ultimately of identical etymology. The forms with
gg are for convenience treated under
egg,
exc. where used in senses now peculiar to this word.]
1. a. trans. To give an edge, impart sharpness, to (a weapon, etc. or tool); chiefly in
fig. sentences.
| 1297 R. Glouc. Chron. (1810) 274, I-egged yt [the sword] ys in on alf. 1609 Bp. Barlow Answ. Nameless Cath. 364 Not blunting the sword of Iustice, but rather edging it. 1621–31 Laud Sev. Serm. (1847) 55 Will God..edge the sword upon the common enemy of Christ? 1718 Pope Odyss. xx. 62 Thy sure divinity shall..edge thy sword to reap the glorious field. 1719 Young Busiris iv. i, One dear embrace; 'twill edge my sword. 1808 J. Barlow Columb. vi. 336 Fame fired their courage, freedom edged their swords. |
b. transf. and
fig. To give keenness or incisive force to (appetite, wit, endeavours, etc.).
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 38 With spirit of Honor edged More sharper then your Swords, high to the field. 1643 T. Goodwin Child of Light 39 These doe edge and sharpen the wit. 1647 Fuller Good Th. in Worse T. (1841) 156 O that this would edge the endeavours of our generation. 1673 Lady's Call. i. ii. §10. 16 All the torments there being edged and sharpned by the woful remembrance. 1742 R. Blair Grave 644 Some intervals of abstinence are sought To edge the appetite. 1855 G. Brimley Ess. 36 The piercing cold of the night-wind edged with sea-salt. 1885 R. Bridges Nero ii. i. 6/1 But now to hear how she hath edged her practice. |
† 2. a. To urge on, incite, provoke, encourage (a person);
= egg v. (but
usu. with more direct reference to the
n.); also, to stimulate, give activity to (an industry, etc.).
Obs. exc. as in b.
| 1575 J. Hooker Carew 116 He..would..edge, procure and cause others to do the like [bestow money]. 1577 Holinshed Chron. III. 1239/2 He accused the moonks of manie things, and did therewith so edge the king against them. 1613 in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 141 The Duke edged his soldiers, by declaring unto them the noble works of their ancestors. 1625 Bacon Usury, Ess. (Arb.) 545 This..will Encourage and edge, Industrious and Profitable Improuements. 1648 Gage West. Ind. xiii. (1655) 76 Which edgeth the Spaniards to a constant and continuall war with the Inhabitants. |
b. with
on:
= egg on (see
egg v. 2).
| 1580 North Plutarch 613 Cassius..did..edge him [Brutus] on the more, for a private quarrell he had conceived against Cæsar. 1609 Holland Livy xlii. liv. 1147 b, It envenomed the enemies and edged them on [infestiores fecisset]. 1652 H. L'Estrange Americans no Jewes 61 [Cannibalism is] a national helluonisme..Whetted and edged on by..Revenge. 1725 New Cant. Dict., To Edge, or as 'tis vulgarly call'd, to Egg one on. 1842 Pusey Crisis Eng. Ch. 36 To this they will ever be edged on by those, who are watching to take advantage of our perplexities. 1867 Bushnell Mor. Uses Dark Th. 41 To be cornered and pressed and edged on..into the best ways and noblest endeavors. |
† 3. a. To set (the teeth) on edge.
Obs. exc. dial. [
Cf. Flem. eggen de tanden (Kilian).]
| a 1300 Cursor M. 796 Þair suns tethe are eggeid yitt. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 136 Eggyd, as teethe for sowre frute, acidus. a 1555 Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 347 Lest peradventure we take chalk for cheese, which will edge our teeth, and hinder digestion. 1604 T. Wright Passions vi. 318 That bitter Apple which edged all mens teeth. 1634 Heywood Maidenh. well lost iv. Wks. 1874 IV. 147 If youle eate grapes vnripe, edge your owne teeth. 1865 B. Brierley Irkdale I. 26 It edges my teeth wurr nor a railroad whistle. |
† b. ?
transf. ? To irritate.
| c 1450 Lydg. Min. Poems 115 How shrewly he was egged For to here hys dyrge do, and se hys pet deggyd. |
4. a. To furnish with a border or edging; to border; also, to colour or ornament on the edge.
| 1555 Eden Decades W. Ind. (Arb.) 197 One of these is edged with belles. c 1570 Thynne Pride & Lowl. (1841) 20 Of golde and silver and such trumperie, To welte, to edge, to garde. 1629 Milton Ode Nativity 185 From haunted spring and dale Edged with poplar pale. 1684 Wilding in Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) I. 259 For edging my Hatt, 4d. 1728 Pope Dunc. iii. 248 Whose sarcenet skirts are edged with..gold. 1746–7 Hervey Medit. & Contempl. (1818) 133 The glittering fringes which edge the pink. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 202 Matricaria inodora..bracts edged with brown. |
b. Of a range of hills, etc.: To form a border or enclosure to; to enclose.
| 1644 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 126 On the top of all, runs a balustrade which edges it quite round. 1717 Berkeley in Fraser Life (1871) 569 The 2 first miles of this post close along the Dea, being edged on the left by mountains. 1725 Pope Odyss. x. 102 A bay there lies, Edg'd round with cliffs. 1886 Manch. Exam. 2 Jan. 5/3 Except where it is edged by the border lands of China and Thibet, Burmah is surrounded by British territory. |
5. intr. To move edgeways; to advance (
esp. obliquely) by repeated almost imperceptible movements. Also with
advs. aside,
away,
down,
in, etc. Chiefly
Naut. (see
quot. 1867).
| 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 128 We descried a ship..we edged towards her to see what she was. 1627 ― Seaman's Gram. xiii. 60 Be yare at the helme, edge in with him. a 1628 F. Greville Sidney (1652) 60 Publiquely edging nearer the holy mother Church. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. iii. 41 The James..then edged vp in the winde. 1650 Cromwell Let. 4 Sept. Causing their right wing of horse to edge down towards the sea. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 72 He observed Frog and old Lewis edging towards one another to whisper. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xvi. (1840) 269 They..stood edging in for the shore. 1777 Cook 2nd Voy. iii. vii. (R.) On edging off from the shore, we soon got out of sounding. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 382 Rear-Admiral Knowles..kept edging down on the enemy. 1832 Marryat N. Forster xli, The..admiral edged away with his squadron. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 283 The wind edged round a little more to the northward. 1863 Mrs. Oliphant Salem Ch. xv. 275 He edged past the table in the back-parlour to the window. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Edge away, to decline gradually from the course which the ship formerly steered, by sailing larger or more off, or more away from before the wind than she had done before. To edge down, to approach any object in an oblique direction. |
| fig. 1859 Sat. Rev. VIII. 5/1 A disposition, on the part of a youth, to edge into a different station from that in which he was born. |
6. a. trans. To move by insensible degrees; to insinuate (something, oneself)
into a place. With
advs.: To force (something) by imperceptible degrees
away,
in,
off,
out. Also
fig.| 1677 Earl of Orrery Art of War 161 During the motion of your advanced Wing, to edge it, by degrees, and insensibly, towards, etc. 1690 Locke Educ. Wks. 1714 III. 67 Edging by Degrees their Chairs forwards. 1704 Davenant in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 397 IV. 245 If you believe him obstinate..advise me of it, for I can edge it [a wager] off. 1708 S. Centlivre Busie Body ii. i, A Son of One and Twenty, who wants..to edge himself into the Estate! 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. I. 14 Every one edging his chair a little nearer. 1812 L. Hunt in Examiner 31 Aug. 545/2 An opportunity..of edging himself into the paper. 1829 I. Taylor Enthus. vii. (1867) 143 Christianity..is seen constantly at work edging away oppressions. 1883 Manch. Exam. 30 Nov. 5/5 The products of the Continent are gradually edging those of England out of the [Turkish] market. |
b. to edge in (a word, etc.): to push in, as if with the edge first.
| 1683 D. A. Art Converse 9 Without giving them so much time as to edge in a word. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xii. Concl., Andromache..contrived to edge in a smile. |
c. To defeat by a small margin.
N. Amer.| 1953 Springfield (Mass.) Sunday Republican 20 Sept. 8b (heading) Bellows Falls edges Windsor eleven, 12–6. 1966 N.Y. Times (Internat. ed.) 22 Apr. 12/1 The Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Houston Astros, 3–2. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 41/8 Malvern edged Parkdale 4–3 in the first game. |
7. Cricket. To deflect (the ball) with the edge of the bat.
| 1904 P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes xi. 215 The only blemish in his display was that he once edged a ball from Rhodes between the wicket-keeper and slip. 1906 Daily Chron. 28 July 7/4 Seeing his first ball edged by Rhodes over the slips. 1927 Observer 7 Aug. 18/2 Being inclined to edge the ball. 1970 Times 19 Aug. 6/2 He was fortunate now to edge Wilson only just wide of Fletcher in the gully. |
▪ IV. edge, v.2 (
ɛdʒ)
Also 4
hegge-n.
[OE. ęcᵹan (pa. tense ęᵹide), = MDu., Du. eggen, OHG. ecken (pa. pple. gi-egit), MHG. egen, mod.G. (from LG.) eggen to harrow:—OTeut. *agjan, whence OE. ęᵹiðe, ęᵹðe = MLG. egede, MDu. ēghede (Du. eegd), OHG. egida a harrow. Outside Teut. cf. L. occa, Welsh oged (:—*ocet), Lith. akėczos a harrow, akiti to harrow. The root may possibly be identical with that of edge n.] To harrow.
| a 800 Corpus Gloss. 1430 Occabat, eᵹide. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 19 Canstow..Heggen oþer harwen · oþer swyn oþer gees dryue. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 325 To Edge, to Harrow. 1726 Dict. Rusticum (ed. 3) To Edge..a Country-word for to harrow. |