verge
1 (vûrj)
[Middle English, from Old French, rod, ring, from Latin virga, rod, strip.]
noun
- The extreme edge or margin; a border. See synonyms at border
- An enclosing boundary.
- The space enclosed by such a boundary.
- The point beyond which an action, state, or condition is likely to begin or occur; the brink: on the verge of tears; a nation on the verge of economic prosperity.
- Architecture The edge of the tiling that projects over a roof gable.
- Chiefly British The shoulder of a road.
- A rod, wand, or staff carried as an emblem of authority or office.
- Obsolete The rod held by a feudal tenant while swearing fealty to a lord.
- The spindle of a balance wheel in a clock or watch, especially such a spindle in a clock with vertical escapement.
- The male organ of copulation in certain invertebrates.
intransitive verb: verged, verg·ing, verg·es.
- To approach the nature or condition of something specified; come close. Used with on: a brilliance verging on genius.
- To be on the edge or border: Her land verges on the neighboring township.
verge
2 (vûrj)
[Latin vergere.]
intransitive verb: verged, verg·ing, verg·es.
- To slope or incline.
- To tend to move in a particular direction: “the Neoclassicism … away from which they subsequently verged” (Hugh Honour)
- To pass or merge gradually: dusk verging into night.
