| 释义 |
▪ I. verge, n.1|vɜːdʒ|
Also 6–7 verdge, vierge, 7 varge.
[a. OF. (also mod.F.) verge (= It. verga):—L. virga rod, etc.: cf. virge.]
I.
1. a. The male organ; the penis. rare.
a1400Stockh. Med. MS. i. 343 in Anglia XVIII. 303 Ȝif þe verge be brente, As man of woman may so be schente. 1887[see fellatio].
b. Zool. [After mod.F. use.] The male organ of a mollusc, crustacean, or other invertebrate.
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) III. 114 All [sea-snails]..that have this orifice, or verge, as some call it, on the right side. 1852Dana Crust. i. 242 The male verges are similar in position. 1861Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. vii. 333 In these animals the sexes may be separated or united. The males are generally provided with a verge or spiculum.
†2. Arch. ‘The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft in Gothic architecture’ (Parker). Obs.—1
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 653 If I schulde rehersen by and by Þe korve knottes by crafte of masounry, Þe fresche enbowyng, with vergis riȝt as linys [etc.].
†3. A species of torch or candle. Obs. rare.
1494–5Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 653 Pro factura viij torchez, xij torchettes, cum iiij vergez pro capella d'ni Prioris. 1500–1Ibid. 656, ij torches, iij torchetez, ij verges.
4. a. A rod or wand carried as an emblem of authority or symbol of office; a staff of office; a warder, † sceptre, mace. † sergeant of the verge, = sergeant n. 8 b.
1494Househ. Ord. (1790) 124 The abbott to take to her her scepter and her verge to her hand. 1514in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 251 The said Cardinall..delivered her the Scepter in her right hande, and the vierge of the hand of Justice in her lyfte hand. 1566W. Adlington Apuleius 11, I pray you tell me what meaneth these servitours that follow you and these roddes or verges which they beare? 1602Segar Hon., Mil. & Civ. iv. viii. §4. 218 To this degree of Archduke belongeth a Surcoat;..hee also beareth a Verge or rod of gold. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. d iv b, He used to go before the Emperour with a golden Verge or Warder. 1679Blount Anc. Tenures 22 To support his [the King's] right Arm..whilst he held the Regal Verge or Scepter. 1688Holme Armoury iv. xii. (Roxb.) 506/1 Then marched the sergeants of the Verge of the Guildhall in Paris. 1708J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. ii. vi. (1710) 62 Putting into his Hand a Verge of Gold. 1791Burke App. Whigs Wks. 1842 I. 530 His mind will be heated as much by the sight of a sceptre, a mace, or a verge. 18671st Rep. Commissioners Publ. Worship 38/1 Have you any cross or other emblem carried in procession in your church?—Only a verge. 1894C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 151 The verge formerly borne in state before a newly-appointed member of the Board.
†b. A rod or wand put in a person's hand when taking the oath of fealty to the lord on being admitted as a tenant, and delivered back on the giving up of the tenancy. Also in phr. tenant by the verge. Obs.
1607J. Norden Surv. Dial. iii. 101 Tenants of Base tenure, are they that hold by verge at the will of the Lord. 1628Coke On Litt. 61 Tenant[s] by the Verge are in the same nature as tenants by copy of Court roll. 1651tr. Kitchin's Courts Leet (1675) 161 Plow-holders of base tenure are those which hold by Verge at the Will of the Lord.
5.
†a. A chariot-pole. Obs.—1
1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. v. iv. §13. 25 They will..run vpon the vergies [L. per temonem], and stand stedfastly vpon the beames [L. in jugo], and quickly recouer themselues backe againe into the waggons.
b. A rod, wand, or stick. rare.
1897Church Q. Rev. 5 The Pope's pastoral staff gradually swallowed up the sceptres of kings, as Aaron's verge devoured the other rods.
†6. An accent-mark. Obs.—1
1555Eden Decades iii. vii. (Arb.) 166 The names..are pronounced with thaccent, as yowe may know by the verge sette ouer the heddes of the vowels.
7. Watchmaking.
a. The spindle or arbor of the balance in the old vertical escapement.
1704in J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. 1757 Phil. Trans. L. 201 In the..clock..the verge, that carries the pallets, was bent downwards. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 521 The socket..is turned pretty small on the outside, in order to allow the arbors of the detents to be laid as close to the verge as may be. 1876Clin. Soc. Trans. IX. 145 He..contrived to break the verge of one watch and the cylinder of another. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 279 The Verge..has no pretensions to accuracy in presence of such escapements as the Lever and Chronometer.
b. ellipt. A verge watch (see next).
1871‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshm. iii, Mr. Samuel had previously worn an antiquated verge, once the property of the worthy Captain. 1904Times 11 July 2/6 The watch was simply described as a gold verge with seal.
c. attrib. and Comb., as verge escapement, verge-file, verge hole, verge-maker, verge-pivot, verge spring, verge watch.
1792Trans. Soc. Arts X. 217 Common verge watches have no oil upon the pallets. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 508 The verge-pivots of a good sized pocket⁓watch. 1841Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. IV. 29/1 The end of the screw is attached to a strong verge spring. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Verge-maker, a maker of pallets; a branch of the watch-movement trade. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2707/1 Verge-file, a fine file with one safe side, formerly used in working on the verge of the old vertical escapement. Ibid. 2708/1 The vertical or verge escapement is old-fashioned. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 128 In good clocks the pallets and verge holes are jewelled. 1963Times 6 Feb. 12/4 An anonymous purchaser gave 290gns. for a seventeenth-century verge watch by John Drake. 1977Cleethorpes News 6 May 22/4 (Advt.), Clocks, silver watches, verge watches.
8. a. A part of a stocking-frame (see quot.).
1851–4Tomlinson's Cycl. Usef. Arts (1867) II. 877/1 In front of the needle-bar is a small piece of iron, called the verge, to regulate the position of the needles.
b. U.S. That part of a linotype machine which carries the pawls by which the matrices are released; an escapement pawl link.
In recent use.
II.
†9.
a. A measure of length or superficies for carpentry work. Obs.—0
c1440Promp. Parv. 508/2 Verge, yn a wrytys werke, virgata.
†b. verge of land [tr. OF. verge de terre, med.L. virga terræ], = virgate. Obs. rare.
1467–8Rolls of Parlt. V. 609/1 A mese, iii verge of Land,..iii Acres of Medowe. 1651tr. Kitchin's Courts Leet (1675) 152 Upon two Verges of Land are built houses. 1672Cowell's Interpr., Yardland..is a quantity of Land various, according to the place... It is called a Verge of Land, anno 28 E. 1, Statute of Wards.
III. 10. a. within the verge, within an area subject to the jurisdiction of the Lord High Steward, defined as extending to a distance of twelve miles round the King's court. Also with in, and freq. const. of (the court, etc.). Obs. exc. Hist.
The phrase is a rendering of AF. dedeinz la verge (in Anglo-L. infra virgam), in which verge originally referred to the Steward's rod of office (see sense 4 a); in early use the full expression verge de noster hostel (L. virga hospitii nostri) is employed. In the 18th century commonly denoting the precincts of Whitehall as a place of sanctuary.
1509–10Act 1 Hen. VIII, c. 14 §1 The Lorde Stuarde of the Kynges House..wythin the Verge and Justices of Assize, and Justices of the Peace,..have also power to inqwere..of every Defaulte. 1529in Fiddes Wolsey ii. (1726) 177 According to the ancient custom us'd within your verge. 1591Lambarde Archeion (1635) 38 That the Marshall of the Kings House have the place of the King, to heare and determine Pleas of the Crowne within the Verge. 1604Proclam. Prices Victuals 10 July, The Clarkes of the market of our Houshold within the Verge of our Court. 1643in Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §231 That both He, and the Lord Herbert,..may likewise be restrain'd from coming within the Verge of the Court. 1669E. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. 244 Murders..committed in the Court or within the Verge, which is every way within 12 miles of the chief Tunnel of the Court. 1711Addison Spect. No. 101 ⁋7 Men and Women were allowed to meet at Midnight in Masques within the Verge of the Court. 1764in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 375 M. D'Eon who was to have receiv'd his sentence on fryday last..chose rather to take post in the neighbourhood of Whitehall, in the Verge of the Court. 1839Penny Cycl. XIV. 448/1 The original court of the marshalsea is a court of record, to hear and determine causes between the servants of the king's household and others within the verge.
transf.1606Bp. Andrewes Serm. (1841) II. 202 We were not only within the dominion, but within the verge, nay even within the very gates of death.
b. Hence the verge (of the court), employed with other prepositions or in other constructions to designate this area or jurisdiction.
1529in Fiddes Wolsey ii. (1726) 177 All manner of victuals within the precinct of the verge. 1614Nottingham Rec. IV. 319 Ye Clarke of the Markett for the verge. 1641Termes de la Ley 261 The Coroner of the Kings house..cannot intermeddle within the County forth of the Verge, because that his office extendeth not thereunto. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. (1812) I. 431, I got safe into the verge of the court, where I kept snug. 1768Blackstone Comm. III. 76 By the statute of 13 Ric. II. st. 1. c. 3..the verge of the court in this respect extends for twelve miles round the king's place of residence. 1813H. & J. Smith Horace in Lond. 75 Place me beyond the verge afar, Where alleys blind the light debar. 1865Nichols Britton I. p. xxxiv, This officer [of measures] appears to have been styled Clerk, or Keeper, of the Market; and his duties were generally united with those of the Coroner of the Verge.
attrib.1708J. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Gt. Brit. (1710) 538 [Officers of the Hall... Marshalsea... Verge.] Ibid. Index, Verge Officers, [p.] 538.
c. Court of (the) Verge: (see quot. 1730).
1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxviii. 285 All cases..of trespassis vi et armis, where one [party]..was of the houshold, were handled in the court of the Verge, or the Marshals court. 1682Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 159 Sir Phillip Lloyd..haveing been tried at the court of verge for killing one Mr. Holborne. 1730Bailey (fol.), Court of Verge, is a Court or Tribunal in the Manner of a King's Bench, which takes Cognisance of all Crimes and Misdemeanours committed within the Verge of the King's Court. 1904M. Bateson in Scottish Hist. Soc. Misc. II. 11 A well-developed Court of the Verge, presided over by the Constable, is here revealed in the Scotland of 1305.
11. a. The bounds, limits, or precincts of a particular place. Chiefly after the preps. within, in, out of.
The examples placed under (a) keep closer to the original use (see sense 10) than those under (b).
(a)1641in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 411 The English and Dutch Merchants within the Verge of the Castle [of Dublin]. a1668Davenant Poems (1673) 219 Th' Aldermen by Charter, title lay ('Cause writ 'ith City's Verge) to my new play. 1693Southerne Maid's last Prayer iv. i, I wou'd not be known by any good will out of the verge of Whitehall. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxxvi. 294 She should be beheaded within the verge of the Tower. 1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Lidford, The parish [of Lidford] may..compare with any in the kingdom, the whole forest of Dartmore being in the verge of it.
(b)1650Fuller Pisgah 394 Probably there were some wells within the verge of the Temple. 1703W. Dampier Voy. III. i. 13 The Canary Islands are..within the usual Verge of the True or General Trade-Wind. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xlvii. 165 Whatever Animal comes within the Verge of a Temple, it is secured from Pursuit or Violence. 1772–84Cook's 3rd Voy. i. iii. I. 31 This shews that the Cape de Verde Islands are either extensive enough to break the current of the trade-wind, or that they are situated just beyond its verge. 1860Hawthorne Marb. Faun xxxviii, All splendour was included within its [sc. the cathedral's] verge.
fig.1742Young Nt. Th. ii. 633 The chamber..Is privileg'd beyond the common walk Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heav'n.
†b. In pl. in the same sense. Obs. rare.
1680H. More Apocal. Apoc. 46 The Circle of the Throne..is thus conceived to be drawn about it, but so near that the Beasts..will have the same faces appear within the verges of the Throne that appeared without. 1690C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 324 This only of all Jacob's children was born within the verges of the land of Canaan.
†12. In phrases (as prec.).
a. The range, sphere, or scope of something; all that is naturally included or comprehended under a particular concept, category, etc. Obs. (common in 17th c.).
1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe Wks. (Grosart) V. 219 Voide ground in the towne from the walls to the houses..is not within the verge of my Geometry. 1633P. Fletcher Purp. Isl. i. xlvi, He..gave it..a perfect motion, To move it self whither it self would have it, And know what falls within the verge of notion. 1664Owen Vind. Animad. Fiat Lux Wks. 1855 XIV. 294 These things are without the verge of Christian religion,—chimeras, towers and palaces in the air. 1679C. Nesse Antichrist 188 They fall within the verge of that dispensation. 1717Col. Rec. Pennsylv. III. 35 Made without the Verge of the ancient Laws of that Kingdom. 1734Treat. Orig. & Progr. Fees 34 They do not fall within the Verge of my Undertaking in the present.
transf.1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. iii, Nay, brother, you reach out o' th Verge now.
†b. The pale or limit of a class or community.
1602Marston Antonio's Rev v. vi, We will live inclos'd In holy verge of some religious order. 1649Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. i. 57 As he was included in the vierge of Abrahams posterity. 1699Shaftesbury Charac. II. i. i. §1 'Tis as hard to persuade..the other [sort] that there is any Virtue out of the Verge of their particular Community. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Dwarf (1778) I. 188 Driven out of their own proper class into the very verge of another.
†c. The power, control, or jurisdiction of a person or persons. Obs.
1648Milton Observ. Art. Peace Wks. 1851 IV. 573 For the Conscience, we must have patience till it be within our verge. 1653–4Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 227 The master of the ceremonies (as in his own verge) imperiously urged Whitelocke to pledge the health. 1676Marvell Gen. Councils Wks. 1875 IV. 143 The dextrous bishops..hooked within their verge, all the business and power that could be catch'd. 1704Swift Mech. Operat. Spirit (1711) 291 Engag'd in wise Dispute about certain Walks and Purlieus, whether they are in the Verge of God or the Devil.
IV.
13. a. The edge, rim, border, or margin of some object of limited size or extent. Now rare.
1459Paston Lett. I. 468, ij. galon pottes of silver wrethyn, the verges gilt. Ibid., ij. flagons of silver, with gilt verges. 1482Ibid. III. 282 A scochen..with a scripture wretyn in the verges therof rehersyng thise wordes, ‘Here lieth Margret Paston [etc.]’. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1337/1 About the verges [of the coins] was written; Francis of France duke of Brabant. 1616B. Jonson Masques, Hymenæi 926 A transparent veile..whose verge, returning up, was fastened [etc.]. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Love Unknown 25 A boyling caldron, round about whose verge Was in great letters set Affliction. 1673–4Grew Anat. Trunks i. i. §14 On the inner Verge of the Barque, stands another Sort of Sap-Vessels, in one slender and entire Ring. 1716Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 256 A Gravestone, round the verges of which [etc.]. 1747Gray Death Fav. Cat 29 Again she bent, Nor knew the gulf between... The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd, She tumbled headlong in. 1864Boutell Hist. & Pop. Her. xix. §5 (ed. 3) 310 The Verge of the Escutcheon charged with 4 half Fleurs de lys or. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. i, He stood on the verge of the rug.
†b. With a and pl., etc.: A brim or rim; a circle of metal, etc. Obs.
1561J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 64 b, A raine⁓bow lyke an Emeraud compasseth or incloseth it as a verdge. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. i. 59 The inclusiue Verge Of Golden Mettall, that must round my Brow. 1621Ainsworth Annot. Pentat. (1639) 102 These Cups..had verges at the bottome, that they might rest upon the table. 1649Markham Eng. Housew. ii. ii. 116 Then having rold the coffin flat, and raised up a small verdge of an inch, or more high. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 129 There is another [statue]..whose garments and all are marble..and a verge all down before and round ye neck with ye figures of the Apostles done in Embroydery as it were.
†c. Bot. (See quots.) Obs.
1704Dict. Rust. (1726), Verge,..among Florists,..is taken for the edge or outside of a Leaf; as A dented Verge. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v., Among Florists, a dented Verge, is a jagged edge or outside of a Leaf.
d. Arch. (See quots.) Cf. verge-board.
1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §83 To give a slight inclination to the verge or border-slates, where they butt against brick-work. Ibid. §849 The verges are the external edge of the tiling in gables, which are covered with lime and hair, or Roman cement. 1875Encycl. Brit. II. 475/2 Verge, the edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.
14. a. The extreme edge, margin, or bound of a surface of an extensive nature, but regarded as having definite limits. Also occas. without const.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 93 The furthest Verge That euer was suruey'd by English eye. 1602Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 30 The shuddering morne that flakes, With silver tinctur, the east vierge of heaven. 1628Wither Brit. Rememb. i. 73 The spacious verge of that well peopled Towne. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 1038 Here Nature first begins Her fardest verge, and Chaos to retire. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 16 To return to Johanna; the innermost part we suppose to be fruitful, by what the Verge of it declares. 1727–46Thomson Summer 944 Sad..he sits, And views the main that ever toils below, Still fondly forming in the farthest verge. 1735Somerville Chase iii. 549 Close to the Verge Of a small Island. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 337 The jackall..pursues even to the verge of the city, and often along the streets. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, The first tender tints of morning now appeared on the verge of the horizon. 1829Scott Rob Roy Introd. ⁋2 He owed his fame in a great measure to his residing on the very verge of the Highlands. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 342 About a day's journey south of Leeds, on the verge of a wild moorland tract, lay an ancient manor. 1876Page Adv. Text-bk. Geol. iii. 53 On the western verge of Egypt.
b. fig. The end of life.
1750Johnson Rambler No. 71 ⁋11 The computer..believes that he is marked out to reach the utmost verge of human existence. 1864Pusey Lect. Daniel (1876) 503 The utmost verge of this life. 1874Holland Mistr. Manse xxvii, It had the power to stay his feet Yet longer on the verge of life. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 55 The mind was wandering, as it often does On the dim verge of life.
c. The utmost limit to which a thing or matter extends; the distinctive line of separation between one subject and another.
1796F. Burney Camilla V. 406 Having lived up to the very verge of his yearly income. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. x, He carried his dislike to youthful amusements beyond the verge that religion and reason demanded. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 173 Sforza's resolution..is..out of the verge of nature and probability. 1870Emerson Soc. & Solit., Work & Days Wks. (Bohn) III. 70 The verge or confines of matter and spirit. 1874L. Stephen Hours in Libr. (1892) I. v. 180 The very outside verge of the province permitted to the romancer.
15. a. The extreme edge of a cliff or abrupt descent. Used absol. or with of.
(a)1605J. Rosier in Capt. Smith Virginia (1624) 19 The rocky clifts..are all overgrown with Firre,..and Oke, as the Verge is with Gousberries [etc.]. 1728Eliza Heywood tr. Mme. de Gomez' Belle A. (1732) II. 61 He fell off the Verge he had been so bold to climb, dying the Sea with his Blood. 1784Cowper Task vi. 519 His steed.., wheeling swiftly round, Or e'er his hoof had press'd the crumbling verge, Baffled his rider, sav'd against his will! 1813Byron Corsair i. xvi, The verge where ends the cliff, begins the beach. 1832W. Irving Alhambra II. 234 In the centre of this basin yawned the mouth of the pit. Sanchica ventured to the verge and peeped in.
(b)1677Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 320 Like a man that walks upon the utmost verge of a river's brink. 1817Moore Lalla R., Fire-Worshippers iv. 128 The mighty Ruins..Upon the mount's high, rocky verge. 1823F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 23 This rock is seated upon the verge of a precipitous eminence. 1863Baring-Gould Iceland 257 Thorbjorn shouted and brought Grettir and his brother to the verge of the cliff.
fig.1742Young Nt. Th. i. 62 My hopes and fears..o'er life's narrow verge Look down—on what? a fathomless abyss. 1760Gray Let. to Wharton 22 June, You see him [i.e. Sterne] often tottering on the verge of laughter. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. viii. 276 The fortunes of Hyder tottered on the verge of a precipice. 1849Sir J. Graham in Parker Life & Lett. (1907) II. iv. 86 He is now tottering on the verge of the grave. 1861Sir G. Trevelyan Horace at Athens iii. (1862) 39 We still consume..Veal that is tottering on the verge of beef.
b. The margin of a river or the sea. Also without const.
1606Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. Tropheis 1157 The flowry Verge that longst all Jordan lies. 1614Gorges Lucan i. 26 Where the Tarbellians bound at large A calmed sea, with crooked varge. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 111 Vpon the verge of the Riuer there are fiue houses. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles v. vii, The leaders urge Their followers to the ocean verge. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 163 There, at length, on the verge of the ocean,..the imperial race turned desperately to bay. 1878Susan Phillips On Seaboard 81 What do they [sc. ships] bring to us? who..Sport by the verge and gather rosy shells.
fig.1843Neale Hymns for Sick 23 And when I tread the utmost verge Do Thou divide the flood.
c. poet. The horizon.
1822Byron Heav. & Earth i. iii, Their brazen-colour'd edges streak The verge where brighter morns were wont to break. 1847Tennyson Princ. vii. 23 She..sees a great black cloud..Blot out the slope of sea from verge to shore.
16. a. With a and pl. A limit or bound; a limiting or bounding belt or strip. Somewhat rare.
1660H. More Myst. Godl. i. 16 Within the narrow verges of this mortal life. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 877 Serve they as a flourie verge to binde The fluid skirts of that same watrie Cloud? 1790Trans. Soc. Arts VIII. 6 A verge, six yards broad, on two sides, is filled with a variety of Forest-trees. 1851Meredith Death of Winter 19 He melts between the border sheen And leaps the flowery verges. 1852J. Wiggins Embanking 136 Such pasturable verges or grassy fringes as have already been subject to acts of ownership.
b. spec. A narrow grass edging separating a flower border, etc., from a gravel walk. Hence also, an unpaved strip of land, usu. planted with grass, separating a pedestrian pavement from a road; a (grass-covered) edging to a road. Cf. grass verge s.v. grass n.1 14.
1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Grass-plot, The Quarters, or Verges, are to be prepared with..Earth to lay the Turf on. 1731Miller Gard. Dict., Verge..in Gardening..is generally understood to be a Slip of Grass which joyns to Gravel Walks, and divides them from the Borders in the Parterre Garden. 1858Glenny Gard. Every-day Bk. 71/1 The verges of green turf, so apt to encroach upon the gravel-walks and inwardly upon the beds. 1953H. E. Bates Nature of Love 16 She had just time to pull the pram into the verge before Parker went past her and the Ford, bouncing, hit the snake fence thirty yards beyond. 1955Times 9 July 7/5 If there were three lanes the slow traffic would be far more inclined to keep within their lane nearer the verge and allow faster vehicles to pass. 1972Human World Nov. 29 The other passengers..crowded towards the windows. The excitement was caused by a small tribe of gypsies encamped on the verge. 1979J. Grimond Memoirs vii. 108 Before the stupid and expensive cutting of the verges the roadsides were thick with clover and cow-parsley.
attrib. and Comb.1822Loudon Encycl. Gard. §617 Verge-Shears..are a smaller variety, in which the blades are joined to the handles by kneed shanks, to lessen stooping in the operator. They are chiefly used for trimming the sides of box-edgings [ed. 1824 adds and grass-verges]. 1882Garden 28 Jan. 65/1 Verge cutting and levelling of turf.
17. a. The brink or border of something towards which there is progress or tendency (from without); the point at which something begins. Usually in the phrases on or to the verge of.
Various types of context are illustrated by the different groups of quotations.
(a)1602Marston Ant. & Mel. Induct., I will..ding his spirit to the verge of hell. 1718Pope Iliad xv. 14 His senses wandering to the verge of death. 1749Smollett Regicide iv. ii, But let us seize him on the verge of bliss. 1791Cowper Iliad v. 787 Sheer into his bone He pierced him, but..Jove Him rescued even on the verge of fate. 1820Scott Abbot xiii, Her maternal fondness for her grandson..carried almost to the verge of dotage. 1842J. Peddie Exp. Jonah v. 88 He seems to have been driven to the very verge of despair. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii. (1861) V. 5 Spencer..was more than once brought to the verge of ruin by his violent temper. 1884L'pool Mercury 22 Oct. 5/4 He was jealous and volatile to the verge of insanity.
(b)1754Johnson Let. to Chesterfield 7 Feb., I have been pushing on my work..and have brought it, at last, to the verge of publication. 1772Shrubsole & Denne Hist. Rochester 35 The nation seemed on the verge of a civil war. 1848W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 599 A generous city..driven to the verge of revolt. 1851Robertson Serm. Ser. ii. xi. (1864) 145 Such men tread..on the very verge of a confession. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xxiv, I had driven Catherine Weir to the verge of suicide.
(c)1793Smeaton Edystone L. §121, I was now upon the verge of the proper season for action. 1876Mozley Univ. Serm. v. (ed. 2) 107 Just before death..his expressions and signs upon the verge of that moment awaken our curiosity.
(d)1837Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (1857) I. 173 [This] brings us to the verge of modern astronomy. 1862Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. II. iv. 138 We are here on the verge of an inquiry which has perplexed the greatest philosophers.
ellipt.1859Meredith R. Feverel xxxviii, She touched on delicate verges to the baronet, and he understood her well enough.
b. With vbl. ns. on the verge of, on the very point of (doing something).
1858Froude Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 123 He..reached the town to find..the commons and the gentlemen on the verge of fighting. 1858Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 42 We were on the very verge of granting an..annuity. 1887? Miss Ingham Poor Nellie (1888) 91 Twice she was on the verge of telling all.
18. a. The space within a boundary; room, scope. Also const. to or for.
Chiefly in echoes of quot. 1757.
1690Dryden Don Sebastian i. i, Let fortune empty her whole quiver on me, I have a Soul, that like an ample Shield Can take in all; and verge enough for more. 1757Gray Bard 51 Give ample room, and verge enough The characters of hell to trace. 1837Lockhart Scott II. i. 8 The bard..had ample room and verge enough..for every variety of field sport. 1860Hawthorne Marb. Faun xxiv, In this vast house..a great-grandsire and all his descendants might find ample verge. 1877‘H. A. Page’ De Quincey I. xiii. 283 When numbers of freebooters found ample verge for their predatory propensities.
b. fig. and in fig. context.
1836Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 338 In no other country was there so little verge, far less encouragement, allowed to theological speculation. 1863D. G. Mitchell My Farm of Edgewood 283 Here is verge, surely, for a man's cultivation. 1879M. Pattison Milton 178 Not giving verge enough for the sweep of his soaring conception.
▪ II. † verge, n.2 Obs. rare.
[f. verge v.2]
The act of verging or inclining to or towards some object, etc.
1661Glanvill Van. Dogm. 223 If by this verge to the other extream, I can bring the opinionative Confident but half the way. 1662― Lux Orient. xiv. 119 Though they have had..their Verges towards the body and its joys, as well as their Aspires to nobler..objects.
▪ III. verge, v.1|vɜːdʒ|
Also 7 verdge.
[f. verge n.1]
†1. trans.
a. To provide with a specified kind of verge or border; to edge. Chiefly in passive. Also with about. Obs.
1605J. Rosier in Capt. Smith Virginia (1624) i. 20 An equall plaine..verged with a greene border of grasse. 1621Markham Prev. Hunger 13 This Net shall be verdgd on each side with very strong Corde. [Hence in later works.]1625― Bk. Hon. ii. x. §10 Long Mantles..verdged about with a small fringe of siluer. 1708New View of London I. 101/1 The Figures of a Man and a Woman in Brass, and the Stone verged with Plates of the same.
b. To bound or limit by something. rare—1.
1759Mills tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. viii. 20 Sending..for horse-dung, to manure those very lands which never fail of being verg'd, or bottom'd, by a substance..more proper for the end they aim at.
c. To form the verge or limit of.
1817Chalmers Astron. Disc. iv. (1830) 132 How to draw the vigorous land-mark which verges the field of legitimate discovery.
d. To pass along the verge or edge of; to skirt.
1890F. Barrett Betw. Life & Death II. xxviii. 179 The chariot can verge the daïs all the way.
2. intr.
a. To be contiguous or adjacent to; to lie on the verge of. Const. on or upon, along.
1787G. White Selborne vii, Forests and wastes..are of considerable service to neighbourhoods that verge upon them. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 37 The air was still; The blue mist, thinly scatter'd round, Verg'd along the distant hill. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-Bks. (1872) I. 11 The Place de la Concorde.., verging on which is the Champs Elysées.
b. To border on or upon some state, condition, etc. (Cf. verge v.2 3.)
1825[see vergency1]. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. vii. (1842) 197 Mercury or zinc require one [sc. a temperature] verging upon, or even surpassing, a red heat. 1853C. Brontë Villette xviii, Your generosity must have verged on extravagance. 1874H. R. Reynolds John Bapt. v. §3. 352 Philo, however, verges on allowing the λόγος to be the centre of the personality of God.
fig.1842Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 71 Vague desires..made..all kinds of thought, That verged upon them, sweeter than the dream [etc.].
3. To rise up so as to show the edge. rare—1.
1726–46Thomson Winter 868 Wish'd Spring returns; and..The welcome sun, just verging up at first, By small degrees extends the swelling curve!
Hence ˈverging ppl. a.
1796W. H. Marshall W. England I. 165 Wild Deer..were found very injurious to the verging crops.
▪ IV. verge, v.2|vɜːdʒ|
[ad. L. vergĕre to bend, incline, turn. Cf. converge v., diverge v.]
1. intr. Of the sun: To descend toward the horizon; to sink, or begin to do so. Also transf.
1610G. Fletcher Christ's Tr. ii. xxv, Yet when he [the sun] verges, or is hardly ris, She [the moon] the vive image of her absent brother is. 1825Scott Talism. iii, The light was now verging low, yet served the knight still to discern that they two were no longer alone in the forest. 1890R. Bridges Indolence Poems (1912) 270 The summer day Had verged already on its hot decline.
2. To move in a certain direction (esp. downwards); also, to extend or stretch.
a1661Fuller Worthies, Somerset (1662) 32 Henceforward the Sun of the Kings cause declined, verging more and more Westward, till at last it set in Cornwal. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 59 So Man..Touches some wheel, or verges to some goal. 1775S. J. Pratt Liberal Opin. cv. (1783) IV. 6 A tear..still upon the back of my hand, verging to the very finger that [etc.]. Ibid. cxxvi. 149 The higher we climb..the nearer to the gods..: as we verge towards earth..we convolve with the dirt. 1797Monthly Mag. III. 513/1 Verge not downwards, a precipice lies under the earth. 1822‘B. Cornwall’ Misc. Poems, Hall of Eblis, The pillars..verged away In long innumerable avenues. 1886M. W. Hungerford Lady Branksmere i, Towards this rather dilapidated apartment they always verge when perplexed.
fig.1780Cowper Progr. Err. 430 Learning, once the man's exclusive pride, Seems verging fast towards the female side.
b. To diverge or deflect; to run or trickle off.
1692Bentley Boyle Lect. 215 The Epicurean theory, of atoms descending down an infinite space..and verging from the perpendicular no body knows why. 1780S. J. Pratt Emma Corbett (ed. 4) II. 74 The tear had verged off, possibly while he was bowing.
3. To incline or tend, to approach or draw near, towards or to some state or condition. Also with advb. complement. (Cf. verge v.1 2 b.)
(a)1664H. More Myst. Iniq., Apol. 514 Presbytery..that verges nearer toward Populacy or Democracy. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. ii. iv, A man of light wit, verging towards fourscore. 1840Thirlwall Greece VII. lvi. 135 At a time when the people is supposed to have been verging toward utter degeneracy. 1856Dove Logic Chr. Faith Introd. §5. 19 The more human knowledge progresses, the more does man..verge towards the infinite.
(b)a1677Barrow Serm. xvii. Wks. 1686 III. 195 The farther we go on, especially in a bad course, the nearer we verge to the dregs of our life. 1732Arbuthnot Rules of Diet 256 Where the Blood verges to the contrary State. 1737Pope Let. to Swift 23 Mar., The nearer I find myself verging to that period of life which is to be labour and sorrow. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. Advt. 6 As refinement generally verges to extreme contrarieties. 1823Scott Quentin D. Introd., A man whose credit was actually verging to decay. 1844Thirlwall Greece VIII. lxi. 125 When the reign of Demetrius was verging to its close. 1851Trench Poems 14 When I began First to verge upward to a man. 1865Parkman France in Amer. ii. (1876) 16 Yet, verging to decay, she [Spain] had an ominous and appalling strength.
(c)1776Bentham Fragm. Govt. iv. Wks. 1843 I. 288/2 It is not that,..or any discourse verging that way, that can tend to give him the smallest satisfaction. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. ii, In such a decadent age, or one fast verging that way.
b. Const. to with inf. rare—1.
1818Colebrooke Import Colonial Corn 45 A country in which capital has accumulated, population become dense,..is necessarily a manufacturing one, or verging to become so.
c. To approximate in shade or tint to a specified colour.
1815Stephens in Shaw Gen. Zool. IX. i. 87 Plumage nearly black, with a green gloss, which, in some parts, verges to a violet. 1835–6Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 462/2 When large, its colour is dark red, verging to purple.
d. To pass or undergo gradual transition into something else.
1756Burke Subl. & B. Wks. 1842 I. 57 It is not to make a strong deviation from the line of the neighbouring parts; nor to verge into any exact geometrical figure. 1854Poultry Chron. I. 282/1 The ‘Poultry Chronicle’ is fast verging into a state of monomania. 1858Mrs. C. Gore Heckington II. xiii. 267 The close and trimly shrubbery verged, after a few hundred yards, into a beautiful copse.
4. To have a particular direction; to lie or extend towards a specified point.
1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 74/2 A large semi⁓circular area verging to the South. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 557 The flat [boat] always being put in an oblique direction, with its foremost end verging towards the line described by the rope. 1813Shelley Q. Mab ix. 7 Whose rays..Verge to one point and blend for ever there. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) I. 469 Indurated tumour in the left hypochondrium, verging towards the spine. 1828–32Webster s.v., A hill verges to the north.
Hence ˈverging ppl. a., approaching, converging.
1741H. Brooke Constantia Poems (1810) 397/1 Through his foe's shield the verging weapon press'd, And raz'd the plume that wanton'd on his crest. 1910Contemp. Rev. Mar. 339 My sleek limbs cramp in this verging gloom.
▪ V. verge, v.3
[Back-formation f. verger2 1.]
intr. To act as a verger; to be a verger. Hence ˈverging vbl. n.
1900W. How Lighter Moments 54 He werges up one side of the church and I werges up the other. 1926Punch 13 Oct. 400/2, I verges up the centre aisle; he verges up the sides. 1927H. V. Morton In Search of England i. 14 The profession of verging appears to induce mousey manners. 1976Church Times 29 Oct. 18/4 (Advt.), A Christian couple required by St. Paul's Church, Slough. Lady to do cleaning, gent for verging at weekends. |