| 释义 |
▪ 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. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxi. 24 Hiᵹ feallað on swurdes ecge [c 1160 egge]. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 He wile smite..mid egge and cleuen..oðer mid orde and pilten. c1374Chaucer Troylus iv. 899 Beth rather to hym cause of flat than egge. c1450Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 735 Hoc acumen, Hec acies, a neg. 1594Plat Jewell-ho. i. 20 Some kindes of salt..doe giue such temper to the edges of weapons. 1605Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 150, I will..giue to th' edge o' th' Sword his Wife. 1611Bible Gen. xxxiv. 26 They slew Hamor and Shechem..with the edge of the sword. ― Hebr. xi. 34 [They] escaped the edge of the sword. 1648Milton 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. 1797Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 9 A tool with a fine edge may do mischief. 1828Scott F.M. Perth II. 20 When it was steel coat to frieze mantle, the thieves knew..whether swords had edges or no. 1871Freeman 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.
1596Shakes. 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. c1205Lay. 5605 He hauede monie Alemains? mid agge [1275 hegge] to-heowen. c1300K. Alis. 1271 He griputh in hond a spere..Thorughout the bruny creopeth the egge. c1325E.E. Allit. P. B. 1104 Nauþer to cout ne to kerue, with knyf ne wyth egge. c1374Chaucer Former Age 19 No flessh ne wyste offence of egge or spere. 1607Shakes. Cor. v. v. 113 Men and lads Stain all your edges on me. 1791Cowper Iliad xxi. 25 On all sides Down came his edge.
c. The sharpness given to a blade by whetting.
c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5147 His naked swerd in hond he bare, The egge was mich wered a-wey. 1517R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 21 Tooles made of Iron that never lese ther egge by myracle of Seynt Nicholas. 1850Blackie 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.
a1593H. Smith Serm. (1866) II. 88 To add an edge unto our prayers. 1594Shakes. 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. 1603Florio Montaigne (1634) 503 Faults and contrary successes give it [love] edge and grace. 1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 29 To take away The edge of that dayes celebration. 1625Donne Serm. 195 The apostle there changes the edge of his argument. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xi. 179 Take not too much at once, lest thy brain turn edge. 1661Bramhall Just Vind. iv. 87 The edge and validity of it [ecclesiastical law] did proceed from authority royal. 1704Col. Rec. Penn. II. 142 Pleads reasons y⊇ Edge of which..has wore off. 1775Sheridan Rivals 1st Prol., No tricking here, to blunt the edge of law. 1830T. Hamilton C. Thornton (1845) 79 Exercise..had given more than its wonted edge to my appetite. 1846Prescott Ferd. & Is. II. vii. 416 Several circumstances operated to sharpen the edge of intolerance. 1870Swinburne 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. 1879Lowell Poet. Wks. 375 Yet knows to put an edge upon his speech. a1891Mod. He is, not to put too fine an edge upon it, a thoroughpaced scoundrel. 1915Wodehouse Psmith, Journalist (1923) xiii. 90 It will give our output precisely the edge it requires. 1932H. Crane Let. 31 Mar. (1965) 405 Dangers that give the same edge to life here that the mountains give to the horizon. 1936W. Holtby South Riding iii. iii. 175 That girl gives them the rough edge of her tongue. 1939W. 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’. 1939F. Thompson Lark Rise i. 14 It took the edge off the appetite. 1946Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 103 The tone is full and incisive, with a distinct edge to it—perhaps rather too distinct. 1957Essays & 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.
1581Savile Tacitus' Hist. ii. xlii. (1591) 78 The Othonians, laying aside all edge to fight. 1605Bacon Adv. Learning ii. 112 He must take heed he shew..some sparkles of liberty, spirit, and edge. a1638Mede Ep. Hayn xii. Wks. 752, I have little or no edge to contend with one I think perswaded. 1642Rogers 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. 1868W. 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.)
1602Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 27 Giue him a further edge. 1609Holland Livy vi. xxviii. 237 The memoriall of that late..losse sustained might rather stirre them up and set an edge upon them. 1626W. 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.
1896Daily 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. 1911C. E. Mulford Bar-20 Days (1921) xiv. 147 I'll do anything to get th'edge on that thief. 1914Joyce Dubliners 48 She had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening. 1929Publishers' 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. 1932Latimer 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. 1932N.Y. Herald-Tribune 2 May 1/4 (heading) Herriot's party obtains edge and is held sure to win. 1936M. Mitchell Gone with Wind liv. 943 Belle's got the edge on you..because she's a kind-hearted, good-natured soul. 1946Wodehouse Money in Bank xxiv. 214 Jeff..thought he saw now where she had the edge on Myrtle Shoesmith. She was a quicker starter. 1949M. 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. 1952Times 19 Dec., Scottish schools also had the edge on the English and Welsh in the matter of pullovers and sweaters. 1953G. S. Coffin Acol & New Point Count 11 If you hold an average hand..it has no edge over other hands around the table. 1957New 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. 1958Daily Express 15 July 6/6 Nancy Mitford's great edge is that she never went to school. 1959Listener 23 Apr. 738/3 The edge was with Mrs. Durran who goes through to the final. 1959Spectator 8 May 654/2 Goat's milk..makes a yoghourt which, therapeutically speaking, has the edge over any made from cow's milk. 1960Times 14 June 16/1 They still hold the edge, especially with Statham in his present form. 1966Listener 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.
1920F. S. Fitzgerald This Side Paradise (1921) i. iii. 117 We'll drink to Fred Sloane, who has a fine, distinguished edge. 1925E. 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.
1580T. 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. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 43 With harts on edg To be aveng'd each on his enimy. 1591Lyly Sapho iv. iv, You will set mine eares on edge with sweet words. 1641–2Hotham in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1721) I. 496 Fall back! fall edge! I will go doun. 1699B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., Fall back fall edge, or come what will. 1748Richardson 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.
1382Wyclif Ezek. xviii. 2 And the teeth of sones wexen on egge. 1398Trevisa 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. 1535Coverdale Jer. xxxi. 29 Y⊇ fathers haue eaten a sower grape, and the childrens teth are set on edge. 1578Lyte Dodoens v. xx. 576 The same eaten rawe are good against the teeth being set on edge. 1585J. Higins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 428 Dentium stupor, a bluntness of the teeth, when with eating of..sowre things they be out of edge. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 133 That would set my teeth nothing an edge, Nothing so much as mincing Poetrie. 1741Monro Anat. (ed. 3) 162 How come they..to be set on Edge by Acids. 1839Carlyle 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).
1872W. Minto Man. Eng. Prose Lit. ii. ii. 261 Whitgift's strenuous hostility and unsparing rigour of argument set his opponent on edge. 1900Daily News 4 Oct. 6/1 For me there was to be no sleep far into that night, for my nerves were upon edge. 1908R. W. Chambers Firing Line v. 56 I'm all on edge over this landscape scheme. 1924J. Buchan Three Hostages xvi. 227 His manner had not the ease it used to have. He seemed on the edge about something. 1932Daily Express 29 June 6/2 Her nerves were plainly on edge. 1938S. V. Benét Thirteen o'Clock 290 He felt fagged and on the edge already. 1951J. 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.
1929E. 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.
1535Coverdale 1 Sam. iv. 2 In the Edge in the felde they slewe aboute a foure thousande men. 1682Sir 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.)
c1325E.E. Allit. P. B. 451 Bot þe hyȝest of þe eggez vnhuled wern a lyttel. 1513Douglas æneis viii. viii. 55 The worthy peple Lydiane..remane apoune the edge of the Hetruscane hyllis. 1535Stewart 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.)
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 170 You knew he walk'd..on an edge More likely to fall in, then to get o're. 1667Milton P.L. i. 276 That voyce..heard so oft..on the perilous edge Of battel when it rag'd. 1718Pope 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.
1823H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 149 Terminal solid angles replaced by two planes, resting on the obtuse edges of the pyramids. 1878Gurney 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.
1772Jones 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. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iii. i, Learning to cut the outside edge on skaits that have no edge to cut with. 1880Vandervell & 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.
1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 72 The Board is set an edge with one end in the Bench-screw. 1708Mortimer Husb. 50 Harrow it as you plow it up, but then..you must speedily plow it up an edge again. 1784De Lolme Eng. Const. ii. xvii. 276 Ran the edge of his hand with great quickness along his neck. 1878Browning 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.
1702C. 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).
c1400Beryn 587 The egge of the panne met with his shyn. 1459Inv. 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.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §46 And sett þou þere þe degre of þe mone according wiþ þe egge of þe label. c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 129 Ley þe bouȝt on þe vttur egge of þe table. 1494Fabyan vi. cxcvi. 202 The abbey of Leof, besyde Hereforde, in the egge of Walys. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xl. 12 The edge before the chambres was one cubite brode. 1588Shakes. 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. 1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 228 Many of their Leaves parch'd about their Edges. 1732De Foe Tour Gt. Brit. (1769) II. 181 Elestre, is a Village on the Roman Watling-street, on the very Edge of Middlesex. 1823Lamb Elia Ser. ii. vii. (1865) 280 All this time sat upon the edge of the deck quite a different character. 1833N. Arnott Physics II. 210 The image will be more perfect..at its middle than towards its edges. 1836Thirlwall Greece III. xxii. 238 He..drew up his men at the water's edge. 1879G. C. Harlan Eyesight ii. 21 The edges of the orbit are comparatively dense and strong.
b. fig. of portions of time, seasons, etc.
1638Featly Transubst. 229 Win the day in the edge of the evening. 1782Johnson Let. 20 Mar. in Boswell, I made a journey to Staffordshire on the edge of winter. 1868E. 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.
1502Priv. Purse Exp. Eliz. York (1830) 68 Blake velvet for an edge and cuffes for the same gowne. 1552Huloet, Edge of a fillet or roll..Tænia. 1611Bible Ex. xxvi. 10 Fiftie loopes on the edge of the curtaine. 1856Mrs. 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.
1563Shute 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).
c1325E.E. Allit. P. B. 383 Er vch boþom watz brurd-ful to þe bonkez eggez. 1480Caxton Descr. Brit. 3 The edge of the frenssh clif shold be the ende of the world yf the ylonde of brytayn ne were not. 1827Pollok Course T. v, Toppling upon the perilous edge of Hell. 1865Reader 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).
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. v. 68 Will you, the Knights Shall to the edge of all extremitie Pursue each other? 1884Church 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! 1925Wodehouse 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. 1945Baker 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.
1854Miller Sch. & Schm. xiv. (1860) 153 *‘Edge-coals’—those steep seams of the Mid-Lothian Coal-basin.
1843Carlyle Past & Pr. (1858) 91 Do honour to any *edge-gilt vacuity in man's shape.
1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 241 *Edge-hummocks, that is to say, hummocks formed at the margin of floes and afterward cemented there.
1874Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-joint (Carpentry), a joint formed by two edges, forming a corner.
1781J. Hutton Tour Caves (E.D.S.) *Edgeleams, sb. pl., edge tools.
1570Levins Manip. 161 An *Edgelome, culter.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 961 The coal-seams thus upheaved [sc. at a high angle], are called *edge-metals by the miners. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 95 Edge coals, edge metals, edge seams (Sc.), highly inclined seams of coal.
1874Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-mill, an ore-grinding or oil-mill in which the stones travel on their edges.
1762Borlase in Phil. Trans. LII. 509 All the *edge-mouldings of the canopy were tore to pieces.
1876Encycl. Brit. IV. 493/1 For side or *edge nailing..clasp-nails..are used.
1879in 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.
1874Knight 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.
1871Cassell's Techn. Educator II. 267/1 The clay..is conveyed to the *edge-runners or other machinery used to pulverise it. 1883H. G. Harris in H. J. Powell Princ. Glass-Making 46 The pieces of limestone are further crushed under a pair of ‘edge-runners’. 1883Encycl. Brit. XVI. 463/2 Edge-runners (Chilian mills). 1891Engineer 9 Jan. 36 Edge runner grinding mill. 1963R. 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.
1802Playfair Illustr. Hutton. The. 236 We obtain the same information from inspecting the *edge-seams. 1805Forsyth Beauties Scotl. I. 269 The strata..receive the appellation of edge seams, from their descending, or almost upright position in the earth.
1874Knight Dict. Mech., *Edge-shot, a board with its edge planed is said to be edge-shot.
1854Woodward Mollusca ii. 162 *Edge-teeth dentated.
1952C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing vii. 259 Lined ‘*edge-to-edge’ coat in wool georgette. 1961F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 81 Edge to edge, descriptive of the planking of a carvel-built boat. 1963C. R. Cowell et al. Inlays, Crowns & Bridges vii. 70 (caption) For an edge-to-edge bite the tip is prepared horizontally.
1931G. Jacob Orchestral Technique ix. 95 The contrast between the ‘*edge-tone’ of the trumpets and the rounder tone of the horns. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iii. 67 The breathy edge tone that we hear with the flute.
1857W. 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.
1880Mrs. Whitney Odd or Even x. 83 Trudging along on the opposite *edgeways of the soft brown, deep-rutted road.
1874Knight Dict. Mech. 774 *Edge-wheel, a wheel travelling on its edge in a circular or annular bed.
1902Encycl. 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. 1904Ann. & 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.
1971Electronics & Power Sept. (Suppl.) S15 (Advt.), Cinch *Edge Connectors make over 93,000,000 trouble-free connections every year. 1982Giant 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.
1904Dialect Notes II. 380 *Edge well, a well drilled on the edge of the oil pool. 1929Petroleum 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. 1984Oil & 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.
1968T. Wolfe Electric Kool-aid Acid Test iv. 35 It's time to take the Prankster circus further on toward *Edge City. 1988New 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. 1989Atlantic 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’. 1996New 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.
1297R. Glouc. Chron. (1810) 274, I-egged yt [the sword] ys in on alf. 1609Bp. Barlow Answ. Nameless Cath. 364 Not blunting the sword of Iustice, but rather edging it. 1621–31Laud Sev. Serm. (1847) 55 Will God..edge the sword upon the common enemy of Christ? 1718Pope Odyss. xx. 62 Thy sure divinity shall..edge thy sword to reap the glorious field. 1719Young Busiris iv. i, One dear embrace; 'twill edge my sword. 1808J. 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.).
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 38 With spirit of Honor edged More sharper then your Swords, high to the field. 1643T. Goodwin Child of Light 39 These doe edge and sharpen the wit. 1647Fuller Good Th. in Worse T. (1841) 156 O that this would edge the endeavours of our generation. 1673Lady's Call. i. ii. §10. 16 All the torments there being edged and sharpned by the woful remembrance. 1742R. Blair Grave 644 Some intervals of abstinence are sought To edge the appetite. 1855G. Brimley Ess. 36 The piercing cold of the night-wind edged with sea-salt. 1885R. 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.
1575J. Hooker Carew 116 He..would..edge, procure and cause others to do the like [bestow money]. 1577Holinshed Chron. III. 1239/2 He accused the moonks of manie things, and did therewith so edge the king against them. 1613in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 141 The Duke edged his soldiers, by declaring unto them the noble works of their ancestors. 1625Bacon Usury, Ess. (Arb.) 545 This..will Encourage and edge, Industrious and Profitable Improuements. 1648Gage 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).
1580North Plutarch 613 Cassius..did..edge him [Brutus] on the more, for a private quarrell he had conceived against Cæsar. 1609Holland Livy xlii. liv. 1147 b, It envenomed the enemies and edged them on [infestiores fecisset]. 1652H. L'Estrange Americans no Jewes 61 [Cannibalism is] a national helluonisme..Whetted and edged on by..Revenge. 1725New Cant. Dict., To Edge, or as 'tis vulgarly call'd, to Egg one on. 1842Pusey Crisis Eng. Ch. 36 To this they will ever be edged on by those, who are watching to take advantage of our perplexities. 1867Bushnell 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).]
a1300Cursor M. 796 Þair suns tethe are eggeid yitt. c1440Promp. Parv. 136 Eggyd, as teethe for sowre frute, acidus. a1555Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 347 Lest peradventure we take chalk for cheese, which will edge our teeth, and hinder digestion. 1604T. Wright Passions vi. 318 That bitter Apple which edged all mens teeth. 1634Heywood Maidenh. well lost iv. Wks. 1874 IV. 147 If youle eate grapes vnripe, edge your owne teeth. 1865B. Brierley Irkdale I. 26 It edges my teeth wurr nor a railroad whistle.
†b. ? transf. ? To irritate.
c1450Lydg. 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.
1555Eden Decades W. Ind. (Arb.) 197 One of these is edged with belles. c1570Thynne Pride & Lowl. (1841) 20 Of golde and silver and such trumperie, To welte, to edge, to garde. 1629Milton Ode Nativity 185 From haunted spring and dale Edged with poplar pale. 1684Wilding in Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) I. 259 For edging my Hatt, 4d. 1728Pope Dunc. iii. 248 Whose sarcenet skirts are edged with..gold. 1746–7Hervey Medit. & Contempl. (1818) 133 The glittering fringes which edge the pink. 1870Hooker 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.
1644Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 126 On the top of all, runs a balustrade which edges it quite round. 1717Berkeley in Fraser Life (1871) 569 The 2 first miles of this post close along the Dea, being edged on the left by mountains. 1725Pope Odyss. x. 102 A bay there lies, Edg'd round with cliffs. 1886Manch. 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).
1624Capt. 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. a1628F. Greville Sidney (1652) 60 Publiquely edging nearer the holy mother Church. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. iii. 41 The James..then edged vp in the winde. 1650Cromwell Let. 4 Sept. Causing their right wing of horse to edge down towards the sea. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 72 He observed Frog and old Lewis edging towards one another to whisper. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton xvi. (1840) 269 They..stood edging in for the shore. 1777Cook 2nd Voy. iii. vii. (R.) On edging off from the shore, we soon got out of sounding. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 382 Rear-Admiral Knowles..kept edging down on the enemy. 1832Marryat N. Forster xli, The..admiral edged away with his squadron. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 283 The wind edged round a little more to the northward. 1863Mrs. Oliphant Salem Ch. xv. 275 He edged past the table in the back-parlour to the window. 1867Smyth 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.1859Sat. 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.
1677Earl of Orrery Art of War 161 During the motion of your advanced Wing, to edge it, by degrees, and insensibly, towards, etc. 1690Locke Educ. Wks. 1714 III. 67 Edging by Degrees their Chairs forwards. 1704Davenant 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. 1708S. Centlivre Busie Body ii. i, A Son of One and Twenty, who wants..to edge himself into the Estate! 1824W. Irving T. Trav. I. 14 Every one edging his chair a little nearer. 1812L. Hunt in Examiner 31 Aug. 545/2 An opportunity..of edging himself into the paper. 1829I. Taylor Enthus. vii. (1867) 143 Christianity..is seen constantly at work edging away oppressions. 1883Manch. 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.
1683D. A. Art Converse 9 Without giving them so much time as to edge in a word. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xii. Concl., Andromache..contrived to edge in a smile.
c. To defeat by a small margin. N. Amer.
1953Springfield (Mass.) Sunday Republican 20 Sept. 8b (heading) Bellows Falls edges Windsor eleven, 12–6. 1966N.Y. Times (Internat. ed.) 22 Apr. 12/1 The Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Houston Astros, 3–2. 1968Globe & 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.
1904P. 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. 1906Daily Chron. 28 July 7/4 Seeing his first ball edged by Rhodes over the slips. 1927Observer 7 Aug. 18/2 Being inclined to edge the ball. 1970Times 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.
a800Corpus Gloss. 1430 Occabat, eᵹide. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 19 Canstow..Heggen oþer harwen · oþer swyn oþer gees dryue. 1669Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 325 To Edge, to Harrow. 1726Dict. Rusticum (ed. 3) To Edge..a Country-word for to harrow. |