edgen.
/ɛdʒ/, U.S. /ɛdʒ/ I. A cutting edge.† 3. figurative. 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.† 5. As rendering of Latin acies:
1.
a.
(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 (Old English ord). the edge of the sword: used rhetorically for ‘the sword’ as the typical instrument of slaughter or of conquest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > [noun] > sharp edge
edgeOE
facea1382
cutting edge1825
knife-edge1871
knife-blade1902
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] > blade of sword > edge
edgeOE
OE Beowulf 1549 Breostnet..wið ord ond wið ecge ingang forstod.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 24 Hig feallað on swurdes ecge [c1160 egge].
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 He wile smite..mid egge and cleuen..oðer mid orde and pilten.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 899 Beth rather to hym cause of flat than egge.
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 735 Hoc acumen, Hec acies, a neg.
1594 H. Plat Diuerse Sorts of Soyle 20 in Jewell House Some kindes of salt..doe giue such temper to the edges of weapons.
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxxiv. 26 They slew Hamor and Shechem..with the edge of the sword . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Heb. xi. 34 [They] escaped the edge of the sword . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. i. 167 I will..giue to th'edge o'th'Sword His Wife. View more context for this quotation
1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 23 And what restraint the Sword comes to at length, having both edge and point, if any Sceptic will needs doubt, let him feel.
1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 9 A tool with a fine edge may do mischief.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth i, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 20 When it was steel coat to frieze mantle, the thieves knew..whether swords had edges or no.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xvii. 54 The King by the edge of the sword changed himself..into a King according to the laws of England.
(b) humorously misused.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > willingness > [noun] > eagerness
yernfulnesseOE
yevernesseOE
fainnessc1340
eagerness1486
edge1600
spleena1616
anxiousness1736
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ii. 159 To be in perrill of my life with the edge of a featherbed. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V iii. vi. 46 And let not Bardolfes vitall threed be cut, With edge of penny cord.
b. poetic. A cutting weapon or tool; in Middle English also a lance.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > [noun]
steelOE
edgeOE
brandc1050
bladec1386
sharpc1390
skewer1838
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun]
sword971
brandOE
edgeOE
ironOE
brandelletc1325
garec1330
toolc1386
brank1480
tranchefera1533
flatchet1577
Morglay1582
smiter1591
brandiron1596
Toledo1601
machaira1614
spit-frog1615
toasting-irona1616
spit1642
bilbo1676
porker1688
tilter1688
degen1699
spurtlec1700
toaster1751
toasting-fork1807
slasher1815
cheese-cutter1824
khanda1825
cheese-toaster1858
windlestraw1895
OE Beowulf 2876 Þæt he hyne sylfne gewræc ana mid ecge.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2795 He hauede monie Alemains mid agge [c1300 Otho hegge] to-heowen.
c1300 K. Alis. 1271 He griputh in hond a spere..Thorughout the bruny creopeth the egge.
c1374 G. Chaucer Former Age 19 No flessh ne wyste offence of egge or spere.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1104 Nauþer to cout ne to kerue, with knyf ne wyth egge.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. vi. 113 Men and Lads, Staine all your edges on me. View more context for this quotation
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xxi. 25 On all sides Down came his edge.
c. The sharpness given to a blade by whetting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > [noun] > given to a blade by whetting
edgec1430
c1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5147 His naked swerd in hond he bare, The egge was mich wered a-wey.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 21 Tooles made of Iron that never lese ther egge by myracle of Seynt Nicholas.
1850 J. S. Blackie in tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. Pref. p. x It is for lack of skill in the workman, not for want of edge in the tool.
1891 N.E.D. at Edge Mod. The knife has no edge. Put an edge on this knife.
2. figurative.† b. Of persons: Ardour, keenness in pursuit of an object; in weaker sense, inclination, liking.† c. to give an edge to, set an edge upon (a person): to stimulate, incite. Obsolete. (Cf. edge n., egg v.1)
a. With direct reference to 1, 1c. Power to ‘cut’ or wound; keen effectiveness. of language: Trenchant Force (cf. point). Of appetite, passion, desires, enjoyment, etc.: Keenness. Phrases (used also literally in 1, 1c), †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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigour or intensity of action > force or intensity of operation or effect
strengthOE
forcec1320
vigour?a1445
forcibleness1563
accent1591
edgea1593
strongnessa1604
keenness?1606
forcefulness1825
power drive1927
kilowattage1935
wattage1964
welly1977
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > incisiveness
edgea1593
pointa1643
pointedness1693
penpoint1805
incisiveness1865
trenchancy1866
crispness1885
trenchantness1892
cutting edge1929
a1593 H. Smith Serm. (1866) II. 88 To add an edge unto our prayers.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III v. viii. 35 Abate the edge of traitors gracious Lord. View more context for this quotation
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. v. 537 Faultes and contrary successes, giue it [love] edge and grace.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 29 To take away The edge of that dayes celebration. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) i. ii. 72 She moues me not, or not remoues at least Affections edge in me. View more context for this quotation
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1953) VI. 268 The Apostle there..changes the edge of his argument.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xi. 179 Take not too much at once, lest thy brain turn edge.
1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. iv. 86 The edge and validity of it [sc. ecclesiastical law] did proceed from authority royal.
1704 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) II. 142 Pleads reasons ye Edge of which..has wore off.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals 1st Prol. No tricking here, to blunt the edge of law.
1830 T. Hamilton Cyril Thornton (1845) 79 Exercise..had given more than its wonted edge to my appetite.
1838 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Ferdinand & Isabella II. ii. vii. 450 Several circumstances operated to sharpen the edge of intolerance.
1871 A. C. Swinburne in Fortn. Rev. July 48 The marble majesty of Calantha [in Ford's ‘Broken Heart’]..gives force and edge to the lofty passion of the catastrophe.
1879 J. R. Lowell Poet. Wks. (rev. ed.) 375 Yet knows to put an edge upon his speech.
a1891 Mod. He is, not to put too fine an edge upon it, a thoroughpaced scoundrel.
1915 P. G. Wodehouse Psmith, Journalist 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.
a1935 W. Holtby South Riding (1936) iii. iii. 175 That girl gives them the rough edge of her tongue.
1939 W. H. Baumer Sports as taught & 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 Ess. & Stud. 10 42 ‘Then came still Evening on.’ The stately order takes the edge off the homely expression ‘Evening came on’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > zeal or enthusiasm > [noun]
jealoustea1382
yeverousheada1400
zeala1413
zealc1425
jealousy1436
eagernessc1450
heartinessc1475
estudy1483
fierceness1533
zealousnessc1555
zealousyc1565
edge1591
warmth1600
empressement1709
enthusiasm1717
entrain1847
impressment1854
fanaticism1855
keenness1875
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. ii. 78 The Othonians, laying aside all edge to fight.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Ccc3 He must take heed he shew..some sparkles of liberty, spirit, and edge . View more context for this quotation
a1638 J. Mede Epist. to Hayn xii, in Wks. 752 I have little or no edge to contend with one I think perswaded.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 183 I have so small hope to prevaile with men, because I goe against their edge.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 390 As for others, their edge is not so much toward them.
1868 W. Collins Moonstone I. i. v. 55 ‘Betteredge, your edge is better than ever...’ ‘He's a wonderful man for his age.’
ΚΠ
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. vi. xxviii. 237 The memoriall of that late..losse sustained might rather stirre them up and set an edge upon them.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. i. 27 Giue him a further edge. View more context for this quotation
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 274 What is wanting to give us an edge to the duty.
d. Of temper (cf. edgy adj. 4).
ΚΠ
1916 ‘B. 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’. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > have or get (someone) at a disadvantage
to have at avail1470
to catch, have, hold, take (one) at (a or the) vantagec1510
to gain of1548
to be to the forehand with1558
to have (take) on (in, at) the lurch1591
to get the sun of1598
to have (also get) a good hand against1600
to take (have, etc.) at a why-nota1612
to weather on or upon1707
to have the laugh on a person1767
to have a (or the) pull of (also over, on)1781
to get to windward of1783
to have the bulge on1841
to give points to1854
to get (have) the drop on1869
to hold over1872
to have an (or the) edge on1896
to get (also have) the goods on1903
to get (or have) the jump on1912
to have (got) by the balls1918
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 J. Joyce Dubliners 43 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 the Wind liv. 943 Belle's got the edge on you..because she's a kind-hearted, good-natured soul.
1942 P. G. Wodehouse Money in Bank xxiv. 253 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. colloquial.
ΚΠ
1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. iii. 122 We'll drink to Fred Sloane, who has a rare, distinguished edge.
1925 E. Hemingway In our Time iv. 60 ‘How do you feel?’..‘Swell. I've just got a good edge on.’
ΚΠ
1580 T. M. in Baret's Aluearie (rev. ed.) To Rdr. sig. A.vi Learned Athens did..set his teeth on edge, such floures to pull As best him likte, to store his skilfull brest.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iv. sig. D6 With harts on edg, To be aueng'd each on his enimy.
1591 J. Lyly Sapho & Phao iv. iv You will set mine eares on edge with sweet words.
a1690 J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.: Third Pt. (1692) I. 490 Fall back! fall edge, I will go down.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew (at cited word) Fall back fall edge, or come what will.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. ciii. 345 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’ (Johnson). Also figurative. 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.1 3); in the passage Ezek. xviii. 2 the Vulgate has obstupescere to be benumbed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > be displeased with [verb (transitive)] > displease
mislikeeOE
ofthinkeOE
misquemeOE
likec1175
forthinka1225
mispay?c1225
annoyc1300
there glads (also gains, games) him no gleec1300
unpay1340
offenda1382
to be displeasedc1386
to step or tread on the toes ofc1394
mispleasea1400
unlikea1425
edgec1450
injurea1492
discontenta1513
disdain1530
to set (a person's) teeth on edge1535
displeasure1541
mis-set?1553
dislike1578
to tread on any one's heels or toes1710
flisk1792
unentrance1834
to tread on any one's cornsa1855
umbragea1894
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Ezek. xviii. 2 And the teeth of sones wexen on egge.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxxii. 1077 A grene grape..smyteþ þe synewes and rootes of teeþ wiþ colde so þat þey maketh teeþ an egge.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. xxxi. 29 Ye fathers haue eaten a sower grape, and the childrens teth are set on edge.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. xx. 576 The same eaten rawe are good against the teeth being set on edge.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 24 They make the teeth an edge.
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 428 Dentium stupor, a bluntness of the teeth, when with eating of..sowre things they be out of edge.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 129 That would set my teeth nothing an edge. Nothing so much as minsing poetry.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iii. 7 Set my pugging tooth an edge . View more context for this quotation
1741 A. Monro Anat. Human Bones (ed. 3) 162 How come they..to be set on Edge by Acids.
1839 T. Carlyle Chartism iv. 31 The strong have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the weak are set on edge.
b. to be on (occasionally upon or on the) edge: to be excited or irritable (cf. 2d).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > be in state of nervous excitement [verb (intransitive)]
to take ona1450
seethe1609
trepidate1623
to take on oneself1632
flutter1668
pother1715
to be upon the nettle (also in a nettle)1723
to be nerve all over1778
to be all nerve1819
to be (all) on wires1824
to break up1825
to carry on1828
to be on (occasionally upon or on the) edge1872
faff1874
to have kittens1900
flap1910
to be in, get in(to), a flap1939
to go sparec1942
to keep (also blow, lose) one's cool1964
faffle1965
to get one's knickers in a twist1971
to have a canary1971
to wet one's pants1979
tweak1981
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > irritability > be irritable [verb (intransitive)]
pensec1230
to be on (occasionally upon or on the) edge1872
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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with
woodc725
woodsekc890
giddyc1000
out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000
witlessc1000
brainsickOE
amadc1225
lunaticc1290
madc1330
sickc1340
brain-wooda1375
out of one's minda1387
frenetica1398
fonda1400
formada1400
unwisea1400
brainc1400
unwholec1400
alienate?a1425
brainless1434
distract of one's wits1470
madfula1475
furious1475
distract1481
fro oneself1483
beside oneself1490
beside one's patience1490
dementa1500
red-wood?1507
extraught1509
misminded1509
peevish1523
bedlam-ripe1525
straughta1529
fanatic1533
bedlama1535
daft1540
unsounda1547
stark raving (also staring) mad1548
distraughted1572
insane1575
acrazeda1577
past oneself1576
frenzy1577
poll-mad1577
out of one's senses1580
maddeda1586
frenetical1588
distempered1593
distraught1597
crazed1599
diswitted1599
idle-headed1599
lymphatical1603
extract1608
madling1608
distracteda1616
informala1616
far gone1616
crazy1617
March mada1625
non compos mentis1628
brain-crazed1632
demented1632
crack-brained1634
arreptitiousa1641
dementate1640
dementated1650
brain-crackeda1652
insaniated1652
exsensed1654
bedlam-witteda1657
lymphatic1656
mad-like1679
dementative1685
non compos1699
beside one's gravity1716
hyte1720
lymphated1727
out of one's head1733
maddened1735
swivel-eyed1758
wrong1765
brainsickly1770
fatuous1773
derangedc1790
alienated1793
shake-brained1793
crack-headed1796
flighty1802
wowf1802
doitrified1808
phrenesiac1814
bedlamite1815
mad-braineda1822
fey1823
bedlamitish1824
skire1825
beside one's wits1827
as mad as a hatter1829
crazied1842
off one's head1842
bemadded1850
loco1852
off one's nut1858
off his chump1864
unsane1867
meshuga1868
non-sane1868
loony1872
bee-headed1879
off one's onion1881
off one's base1882
(to go) off one's dot1883
locoed1885
screwy1887
off one's rocker1890
balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891
meshuggener1892
nutty1892
buggy1893
bughouse1894
off one's pannikin1894
ratty1895
off one's trolley1896
batchy1898
twisted1900
batsc1901
batty1903
dippy1903
bugs1904
dingy1904
up the (also a) pole1904
nut1906
nuts1908
nutty as a fruitcake1911
bugged1920
potty1920
cuckoo1923
nutsy1923
puggled1923
blah1924
détraqué1925
doolally1925
off one's rocket1925
puggle1925
mental1927
phooey1927
crackers1928
squirrelly1928
over the edge1929
round the bend1929
lakes1934
ding-a-ling1935
wacky1935
screwball1936
dingbats1937
Asiatic1938
parlatic1941
troppo1941
up the creek1941
screwed-up1943
bonkers1945
psychological1952
out to lunch1955
starkers1956
off (one's) squiff1960
round the twist1960
yampy1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
out of one's skull1967
whacked out1969
batshit1971
woo-woo1971
nutso1973
out of (one's) gourd1977
wacko1977
off one's meds1986
1929 E. Bowen Last September iii. xvii. 217 He would go over the edge, quite mad.
a. Line of battle.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [noun] > front or front line
edge1535
front1665
firing line1859
Eastern Front1914
Western Front1914
line1916
second front1941
warfront1950
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. iv. 2 In the Edge in the felde they slewe aboute a foure thousande men.
b. Keenness of eyesight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > types of vision > [noun] > clear- or sharp-sightedness
quicknessa1398
clearness1535
eagle eye1567
perspicacity1606
quicksightedness1625
piercingnessa1628
sharpsightedness1647
edgea1682
clear-sightednessa1691
acuity1866
visual acuity1889
V.A.1932
stereo-acuity1942
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) ii. 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; frequently 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 Scottish edge usually denotes merely a ridge, watershed.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > ridge > [noun] > crest of
comba1325
edgec1400
rigging1541
ridge crest1848
ridgetop1849
chine1855
arête1862
back1863
crest-line1890
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 451 Bot þe hyȝest of þe eggez vnhuled wern a lyttel.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid viii. viii. 55 The worthy peple Lydiane..remane apoune the edge of the Hetruscane hyllis.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) III. 371 At Sowtra ege thair merchis than tha maid.
b. A perilous path on a narrow ridge; figurative a sharp dividing line; a critical position or moment. (Sometimes with notion of 1; cf. ‘to walk on a razor's edge’, Greek ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκμῆς. See also razor n. 1b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment
articlea1398
prick?c1422
crise?1541
push1563
in the nick1565
jump1598
concurrence1605
cardo1609
(the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610
edgea1616
climacterical1628
climacteric1633
in the nick-time1650
moment1666
turning-point1836
watershed1854
psychological moment1871
psychical moment1888
moment of truth1932
crunch1939
cruncher1947
high noon1955
break point1959
defining moment1967
midnight1976
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) i. i. 169 You knew he walk'd..on an edge More likely to fall in, then to get o're.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 276 That voyce..heard so oft..on the perilous edge Of battel when it rag'd. View more context for this quotation
1717 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad III. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > line at which two surfaces meet
edge1823
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun] > formed by meeting of two surfaces
arris1437
piend1715
edge1823
knife-edge1871
1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 149 Terminal solid angles replaced by two planes, resting on the obtuse edges of the pyramids.
1878 H. P. 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.
ΚΠ
1772 Jones Skating 22 The inside edge is sometimes required in performing some of the more difficult manœuvres.
1772 Jones Skating 37 [The Dutch] travel on the outside edge.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iii. 46 Learning to cut the outside edge, on skaits that have no edge to cut with.
1880 H. E. Vandervell & T. M. Witham Syst. Figure-skating (ed. 3) 137 The inside edge backwards..may be taken up from the turn on both feet by continuing backwards.
1891 N.E.D. at Edge Mod. Can you do the outside edge?
c. edge of regression n. [translating French arête de rebroussement] Geometry a curve lying in a developable surface, whose tangents are the straight lines of which the surface is composed.
ΚΠ
1842 A. De Morgan Differential & Integral Calculus 434 One sound writer..has attempted to translate the words arête de rebroussement in English by ‘edge of regression’.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. §148 When the number is infinite, and the surface finitely curved, the developable lines will in general be tangents to a curve... This curve is called the edge of regression.
1972 M. Kline Math. Thought xxiii. 568 The edges of regression of one family of developable surfaces all constitute a surface called a center surface.
2006 Mechanism & Machine Theory 41 867 The characteristic points of the family of a meshing roller in enveloping process may include the points of the edge of regression.
** as contrasted with a broad surface.
8. † b. figurative. Phrase, to get by the edges: to get (information) indirectly or imperfectly. Obsolete.
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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being broad in relation to thickness > [noun] > object > smallest dimension of
edge1678
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > narrow surface of something thin and flat
edge1678
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [phrase] > placed edgeways
on edge (formerly often written an edge)1678
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iv. 69 The Board is set an edge with one end in the Bench-screw.
1708 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (ed. 2) 50 Harrow it as you plow it up, but then..you must speedily plow it up an edge again.
1784 J. L. De Lolme Constit. Eng. ii. xvii. 276 Ran the edge of his hand with great quickness along his neck.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 14 Fangs of crystal set on edge in his demesne.
1891 N.E.D. at Edge Mod. A plate set up on edge. The shilling has a milled edge.
ΚΠ
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi ii. App. 45/1 They had got by the Edges a little Intimation of the then Prince of Orange's glorious 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.
ΚΠ
1891 N.E.D. at Edge Mod. The top edge of the book is gilt; the others are left white.
9. The rim (of a hollow vessel).
ΚΠ
1459 Inventory in Paston Lett. 335 I. 468 Vj bolles with oon coverede of silver, the egges gilt.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn Prol. l. 587 Þe egge of þe panne met with his shyn.
III. The boundary of a surface.
10. † d. Architecture. In first quot. rendering Latin regula ‘the shank of a Doric triglyph’ (Lewis and Short). In second quot. apparently = fillet n.1 Obsolete.
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 n.)In geographical sense formerly often used where frontier or boundary would now be preferred.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun]
brerdc1000
hemc1200
barmc1340
cantc1375
margina1382
boardc1400
borderc1400
brinkc1420
edgea1450
verge1459
brim1525
rind1530
margent1538
abuttal1545
marge1551
skirt1566
lip1592
skirt1598
limb1704
phylactery1715
rim1745
rand1829
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun] > of an opening or cavity
edgea1450
brim1546
lip1726
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > rim
brink1382
berda1425
edgea1450
lip1592
beaded1917
bead rim1936
a1450 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Bodl. 619) (1872) ii. Suppl. §46. 59 And sett þou þere þe degre of þe mone according wiþ þe egge of þe label.
a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 129 Ley þe bouȝt on þe vttur egge of þe table.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxcvi. f. cxviii The Abbey of Leof besyde Hereford in the Egge of Walys.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xl. 12 The edge before the chambres was one cubite brode.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 9 Heereby vpon the edge of yonder Coppice. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. ii. 120 From edge to edge A th' world. View more context for this quotation
1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 151 Many of their Leaves parch't about their Edges.
1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) II. 175 Elstre, is a Village on the Roman Watling-street, on the very Edge of Middlesex.
1828 C. Lamb Old Margate Hoy in Elia 2nd Ser. 34 All this time sate upon the edge of the deck quite a different character.
1833 N. Arnott Elements Physics (ed. 5) II. 210 The image will be more perfect..at its middle than towards its edges.
1836 C. Thirlwall Hist. 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. figurative of portions of time, seasons, etc.
ΚΠ
1638 D. Featley Transubstant. Exploded 229 Win the day in the edge of the evening.
1782 S. Johnson Let. 20 Mar. (1994) IV. 23 I made a journey to Staffordshire on the edge of winter.
1868 E. Waugh Sneck-bant iv. 72 in J. H. Nodal & G. Milnar Gloss. Lancashire Dial. (1875) We's be back again abeawt th' edge-o'-dark.
c. That which is placed on the border of a garment, etc.; = edging n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > border or edging
purflec1400
edge1502
welt1506
welting1508
pink1512
guard1535
piccadill1607
love1613
edging1664
cheval de frise1753
fly-fringe1860
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun] > that which forms the edge or border
lista700
edge1502
borderc1540
verge1573
skirt1576
brim?1610
limb1644
edging1684
bordure1691
bordage1860
bordering1862
rimming1868
skirting1872
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > bordering or edging
fasc950
wloc950
hemc1000
hemminga1300
borderc1374
mill1388
purfling1388
orphrey?a1425
wainc1440
millc1450
selvage1481
edge1502
bordering1530
screed1788
German hemming1838
1502 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 68 Blake velvet for an edge and cuffes for the same gowne.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Edge of a fillet or roll..Tænia.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xxvi. 10 Fiftie loopes on the edge of the curtaine. View more context for this quotation
1856 E. C. Gaskell Let. ?22 July (1966) 397 The white..& the lavender edge—did you look after black, (imitation,—Cambray, or Maltese) lace.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [noun] > entablature > parts of Doric entablature
edge1563
femur1563
gutta1563
metope1563
modillion1563
mutule1563
regula1563
subtenia1563
taenia1563
triglyph1563
demi-metope1703
semi-metope1703
diglyph1728
glyph1775
shank1823
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Ciiv The edge which Vitruuius calleth Regula.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Di The lowest edge that standeth vppon Plinthus shalbe in height half a part.
11.
a. The brink or verge (of a bank or precipice).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun] > of something steep
brinka1300
edgec1400
pit-brink1571
overgoing1634
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > cliff > [noun] > edge of
edgec1400
precipice1607
verge1624
bluff-head1703
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 383 Er vch boþom watz brurd-ful to þe bonkez eggez.
1480 W. 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 R. Pollok Course of Time I. i. v. 229 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. figurative. on the edge of: on the point of (doing something).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [adjective] > on the point of or about to
on the edge of1609
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vi. 70 Will you the knights Shall to the edge of all extremity Pursue each other. View more context for this quotation
1884 R. W. Church Bacon v. 114 He was now on the very edge of losing his office.
c. figurative. Often with defining word, as absolute, outside: the ‘limit’, the very extreme. over the edge (see quot. 1945).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [noun] > limit > a farthest limit
ultimo1622
solsticea1631
ultimuma1657
frontier1672–3
upshot1699
ultimatum1748
verge1796
edge1911
the frozen limit1916
1911 ‘I. Hay’ Safety Match i. 8 Cheating again! My word, Nicky, you are the absolute edge!
1925 P. G. 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 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. vi. 134 Over the edge (or fence), unreasonable, beyond the pale of fairness or decency.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. Locative.
(a)
edge-hummock n.
ΚΠ
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xxix. 241 Edge-hummocks, that is to say, hummocks formed at the margin of floes and afterward cemented there.
edge-moulding n.
ΚΠ
1763 W. Borlase in Philos. Trans. 1752 (Royal Soc.) 52 509 All the edge-mouldings of the canopy were tore to pieces.
edge-plate n.
ΚΠ
1879 in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 175/1 All along each bottom side of the body should be plated with iron..The edge~plate, as this is technically called.
edge-teeth n.
ΚΠ
1854 S. P. Woodward Man. Mollusca ii. 162 Edge-teeth dentated.
edge-way n.
ΚΠ
1880 A. D. Whitney Odd or Even? x. 83 Trudging along on the opposite edgeways of the soft brown, deep-rutted road.
(b)
edge-gilt adj.
ΚΠ
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present i. iv. 34 Do honour to any edge-gilt vacuity in man's shape.
(c)
edge-to-edge n. and adj.
ΚΠ
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.
b. Objective.
edge-cutting n.
edge-milling n.
ΚΠ
1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 156/2 Profiling or edge-milling machines are a still more recent application of the milling-tool system.
edge nailing n.
ΚΠ
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 493/1 For side or edge nailing..clasp-nails..are used.
C2. Adverbial. Also edge-tool n., -ways comb. form.
a.
edge-view n.
ΚΠ
1857 W. Binns Elem. Treat. Orthogr. Projection iii. 22 If the paper be now turned..we shall have an edge-view..of the plane on which the lines are drawn.
b. † edge-leam n. Obsolete an edge-tool.
edge-coals n. coals from an edge-seam.
ΚΠ
1854 H. Miller Schools & Schoolmasters (1860) xiv. 153 ‘Edge-coals’—those steep seams of the Mid-Lothian Coal-basin.
edge grindstone n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. Edge grindstone, one the peripheral edge of which is the portion utilized; as distinguished from surface grindstone.
edge-joint n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Edge-joint (Carpentry), a joint formed by two edges, forming a corner.
edge key n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. Edge key, a tool used in boot-making for rubbing and burnishing the edges of soles. The disks are made of patterns: plain, convex, scotch edge, fluted, etc.
edge-laid adj.
ΚΠ
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. Edge laid belt, one made by cutting up the hides into strips of the width of the intended thickness of the belt, and setting them on edge.
ΚΠ
1781 J. Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) Gloss. 89/1 Edgeleams, edge tools.
edge-lome n. [Old English lóma] Obsolete = edge-leam n.
ΚΠ
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Niiiv/2 An Edgelome, culter.
edge-metal n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 961 The coal-seams thus upheaved [sc. at a high angle], are called edge-metals by the miners.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 95 Edge coals, edge metals, edge seams (Sc.), highly inclined seams of coal.
edge-mill n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Edge-mill, an ore-grinding or oil-mill in which the stones travel on their edges.
edge plane n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. Edge plane. 1. (Wood-working.) A plane for edging boards, having a fence, and a face with the required shape; flat, hollow, or round. 2. (Shoe-making.) A plane for shaving the edges of boot and shoe soles.
edge-rail n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. 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.
edge-roll n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Edge-roll, A brass wheel used hot, in running an edge ornament, on a book cover.
edge-rolled adj. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1880 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding 170 Edge-rolled, when the edges of the boards are rolled, either in blind or in gold.
edge-runner n. an apparatus for crushing stone, fibrous matter, etc.
ΚΠ
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.
edge-seam n. a layer or seam of coal that has been tilted into a nearly vertical position.
ΚΠ
1802 J. Playfair Illustr. Huttonian Theory 236 We obtain the same information from inspecting the edge-seams.
1805 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. I. 269 The strata..receive the appellation of edge seams, from their descending, or almost upright position in the earth.
edge-setter n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. Edge setter, a small lathe for burnishing the edges of boot soles. In the Tayman edge setter the shoe is carried on a jack and the burnisher held in the hand.
edge-shot adj. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Edge-shot, a board with its edge planed is said to be edge-shot.
edge-tone n. Music a sound-wave produced when a stream of air is deflected by an edge.
ΚΠ
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.
edge-wheel n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 774/1 Edge-wheel, a wheel travelling on its edge in a circular or annular bed.
edge-zone n. (see quot. 1902).
ΚΠ
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. 13 22 The epitheca is that part of the skeleton secreted by the edge-zone.
Draft additions 1993
edge connector n. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > circuit elements or components
gyrator1948
rail1960
edge connector1971
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 n. an oil or gas well situated near the edge of a drilling field.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > oil rig > [noun] > well
well1652
spouting well1776
petroleum well1801
rock well1830
oil well1859
spouter1865
gusher1876
test well1877
wild cat1877
wildcat well1883
roarera1885
oiler1890
discovery1900
edge well1904
wild well1915
offset well1922
stripper1930
offset1933
production well1934
outstep1947
step-out well1948
1904 Dial. Notes 2 380 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.
Draft additions December 2003
edge city n. originally 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) Sociology a centre of commercial and residential development situated on the outskirts of a city, usually beside a major road.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [noun] > other areas
friars1479
foreign1514
acropolis1570
sestiere1599
shopping district1837
downstreet1865
Latin Quarter1869
midtown1882
club-land1885
flat-land1889
brick area1895
turf1953
grey area1959
office park1963
bed-sitter-land1968
edge city1968
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.
Draft additions June 2014
edge dislocation n. Crystallography a dislocation in which an extra half-plane of atoms intervenes between adjacent lattice planes of a crystal, distorting and stressing surrounding planes; cf. screw dislocation n. at screw n.1 Compounds 6.
ΚΠ
1940 J. M. Burgers in Proc. Physical Soc. 52 25 Such dislocation lines will be said to be of the edge type.]
1949 Progr. Metal Physics 1 78 The first type [of dislocation] is the Taylor or edge dislocation shown in Figure 1... The atomic structure in an edge dislocation is shown in Figure 2.
1972 T. Imura in G. Thomas Electron Microsc. & Struct. Materials 129 The microplasticity can be attributed solely to the motion of edge dislocations.
2011 A. C. Reardon Metall. for Non-metallurgist (ed. 2) ii. 22/2 The main type of line defect is an edge dislocation, where a partial plane of extra atoms is present either above or below the dislocation line.
Draft additions September 2018
Originally U.S.
a. on the edge of one's seat and variants: in a state of excited anticipation and uncertainty; alert in expectation of what happens next (esp. in a film, novel, etc.); in suspense, on tenterhooks. Esp. in to keep (a person) on the edge of his (also her) seat.Originally with reference to audience members or spectators seated at a performance, film, etc.; later in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > keep in suspense [verb (transitive)]
to hold (also keep) (a person) in handa1400
to keep (or hold) in (great or a great) suspense1557
to hold (one) with his bill in the water1579
to hang by the eyelids1587
suspend1605
equipoise1887
to keep (a person) on the edge of his (also her) seat1897
1897 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 21 Aug. 6/2 If you hanker for excitement see ‘The Heart of Maryland’. It will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire evening.
1925 Washington Post 21 Sept. 13/1 Georgetown fans were on the edge of their seats when the final frame got underway.
1967 Films in Rev. Feb. 110/2 The dogfights will have you on the edge of your seat.
1988 Financial Post (Canada) (Nexis) 24 May 4 The Economic Summit..is all about dull, impossible issues like exchange rate policy,..hardly the kind of gripping stuff designed to keep Canadians on the edge of their chairs.
2008 N. M. Rosinsky Write Your Own Legend v. 36/1 One way to keep readers on the edge of their seats is to place characters in a race against time.
b. edge-of-your-seat (also edge-of-the-seat, edge-of-seat): (esp. of a film or part of a film) full of suspense or dramatic tension; highly compelling and exciting. Also: designating such qualities.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adjective] > full of suspense
suspenseful1656
heart-stopping1888
edge-of-your-seat1922
cliff-hanging1930
cliff-hanging1945
nail-biting1946
cardiac1961
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [adjective] > other types
costumed1851
foreign language1904
first run1910
Keystone1912
photodramatic1914
serial1915
coming of age1919
edge-of-your-seat1922
psychodramatic1927
omnibus1928
straight1936
low-budget1937
no-budget1937
screwball1937
Ealing1939
blockbusting1943
private eye1946
film noir1952
white telephone1952
portmanteau1953
uncut1953
anthology1955
three-D1955
Hammer1958
noir1958
co-production1959
kitchen sink1959
kidult1960
docudrama1961
cinéma vérité1963
maudit1963
filmi1965
indie1968
triple-X1969
XXX1969
drama-documentary1970
cheapie1973
gross-out1973
high concept1973
chopsocky1974
hard R1974
buddy movie1975
sci-fi1977
mondo1979
hack-and-slash1981
microbudget1981
hack-and-slay1982
slice-and-dice1982
fly on the wall1983
psychotronic1983
noirish1985
Mad Max1986
stoner1987
bonkbusting1993
straight to DVD1997
1922 Motion Picture News 30 Dec. 3384/3 The picture opens with a bang and closes with some ‘edge of the seat’ scenes.
1932 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 12 May 9/2 (advt.) Edge-of-your-seat suspense.
1961 Financial Times 19 May 20/5 An interpretation of entertainment as conventional drama and edge-of-the-seat excitement.
1986 P. Humphries Films A. Hitchcock 7/2 Rear Window,..with an edge-of-seat narrative and exemplary performances,..shows the spellbinding authority of a director at the peak of his form.
2010 Nottingham Evening Post (Nexis) 29 Apr. 10 A young woman faces a terrifying ordeal in this accomplished edge-of-your-seat thriller.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
edgev.1
/ɛdʒ/, U.S. /ɛdʒ/ 1.
a. transitive. To give an edge, impart sharpness, to (a weapon, etc. or tool); chiefly in figurative sentences.
ΚΠ
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1810) 274 I-egged yt [the sword] ys in on alf.
1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answer Catholike English-man 364 Not blunting the sword of Iustice, but rather edging it.
1621–31 W. Laud Seven Serm. (1847) 55 Will God..edge the sword upon the common enemy of Christ?
1719 E. Young Busiris iv. 52 One dear Embrace, 'twill edge my Sword.
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 62 My sure divinity shall..edge thy sword to reap the glorious field.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad vi. 224 Fame fired their courage, freedom edged their swords.
b. transferred and figurative. To give keenness or incisive force to (appetite, wit, endeavours, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)] > make vigorous or energetic > make more active or intense
sharpa1100
sharpenc1450
acuate1542
whetten1582
keen1599
vigorate1613
edgea1616
exacuatea1637
acute1637
acuminate1784
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. v. 38 With spirit of Honor edged, More sharper then your Swords, high to the field. View more context for this quotation
1636 T. Goodwin Childe of Light i. 39 These doe edge and sharpen the wit.
1647 T. Fuller Good Thoughts in Worse Times v. xiv. 226 O that this would edge the endeavours of our Generation.
1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. ii. §10. 16 All the torments there being edged and sharpned by the woful remembrance.
1743 R. Blair Grave 33 Some Intervals of Abstinence are sought To edge the Appetite.
1855 G. Brimley Ess. (1858) i. 37 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.
a. To urge on, incite, provoke, encourage (a person); = egg v.1 (but usually with more direct reference to the noun); also, to stimulate, give activity to (an industry, etc.). Obsolete except as in 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > urge on or incite
tar ona900
wheta1000
eggc1200
spura1225
aprick1297
ertc1325
sharpa1340
abaita1470
sharpen1483
to set (a person) forth1488
to set forth1553
egg1566
hound1571
shove?1571
edge1575
strain1581
spur1582
spurn1583
hag1587
edge1600
hist1604
switch1648
string1881
haik1892
goose1934
1575 J. Hooker Life Sir P. Carew 116 He..would..edge, procure and cause others to do the like [bestow money].
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) 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 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) xli. 244 This..will Encourage and edge, Industrious and Profitable Improuements.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. (1655) xiii. 76 Which edgeth the Spaniards to a constant and continuall war with the Inhabitants.
b. with on: = egg on (see egg v.1 2).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > urge on or incite
tar ona900
wheta1000
eggc1200
spura1225
aprick1297
ertc1325
sharpa1340
abaita1470
sharpen1483
to set (a person) forth1488
to set forth1553
egg1566
hound1571
shove?1571
edge1575
strain1581
spur1582
spurn1583
hag1587
edge1600
hist1604
switch1648
string1881
haik1892
goose1934
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlii. liv. 1147 b It envenomed the enemies and edged them on [L. infestiores fecisset].
1652 H. L'Estrange Americans No Iewes 61 [Cannibalism is] a national helluonisme..Whetted and edged on by..Revenge.
1725 New Canting Dict. To Edge, or as 'tis vulgarly call'd, to Egg one on.
1842 E. B. Pusey Crisis Eng. Church 36 To this they will ever be edged on by those, who are watching to take advantage of our perplexities.
1867 H. Bushnell Moral Uses Dark Things 41 To be cornered and pressed and edged on..into the best ways and noblest endeavors.
a. To set (the teeth) on edge. Obsolete exc. dialect. [Compare Flemish eggen de tanden (Kilian).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > make sour [verb (transitive)] > set the teeth on edge
edgea1300
astonish1656
a1300 Cursor Mundi 796 Þair suns tethe are eggeid yitt.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 136 Eggyd, as teethe for sowre frute, acidus.
1531 H. Latimer Let. Dec. in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1563) 1331/1 Least peraduenture we take chalke for chese, which wil edge our tethe, & hinder digestion.
1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) vi. 318 That bitter Apple which edged all mens teeth.
1634 T. Heywood Maidenhead Lost iv, in Wks. (1874) IV. 147 If youle eate grapes vnripe, edge your owne teeth.
1865 B. Brierley Irkdale I. ii. 26 It edges my teeth wurr nor a railroad whistle.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > be displeased with [verb (transitive)] > displease
mislikeeOE
ofthinkeOE
misquemeOE
likec1175
forthinka1225
mispay?c1225
annoyc1300
there glads (also gains, games) him no gleec1300
unpay1340
offenda1382
to be displeasedc1386
to step or tread on the toes ofc1394
mispleasea1400
unlikea1425
edgec1450
injurea1492
discontenta1513
disdain1530
to set (a person's) teeth on edge1535
displeasure1541
mis-set?1553
dislike1578
to tread on any one's heels or toes1710
flisk1792
unentrance1834
to tread on any one's cornsa1855
umbragea1894
c1450 J. Lydgate Minor 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > form the edge of [verb (transitive)] > provide with an edge
listc1330
urlec1330
borderc1400
embordera1533
edge1555
lip1607
inverge1611
marginate1611
brim1623
rim1709
margin1715
skirt1717
skirt1787
marge1852
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. xi. f. 163v One of these is edged with belles.
?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Bv Of golde and siluer and such trumperie: To welt, to edge, to garde.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xx, in Poems 9 From haunted spring, and dale Edg'd with poplar pale.
1684 J. Wilding in C. R. L. Fletcher Collectanea (1885) I. 259 For edging my Hatt, 4d.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 204 Whose sarcenet skirts are edg'd with..gold.
1746–7 J. Hervey Medit. (1818) 133 The glittering fringes which edge the pink.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 202 Matricaria inodora..bracts edged with brown.
b. Of a range of hills, etc.: To form a border or enclosure to; to enclose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > form the edge of [verb (transitive)]
skirt1602
inverge1612
edge1644
surround1688
selvage1704
skirt1776
outskirt1811
1644 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 126 On the top of all, runs a balustrade which edges it quite round.
1717 G. Berkeley in Life & Lett. (1871) 569 The 2 first miles of this post close along the Dea, being edged on the left by mountains.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. x. 102 A bay there lies, Edg'd round with cliffs.
1886 Manch. Examiner 2 Jan. 5/3 Except where it is edged by the border lands of China and Thibet, Burmah is surrounded by British territory.
5. intransitive. To move edgeways; to advance (esp. obliquely) by repeated almost imperceptible movements. Also with adverbs aside, away, down, in, etc. Chiefly Nautical (see quot. 1867).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > move or go slowly [verb (intransitive)] > move gradually
inch1599
edge1624
ease away!1627
etch1701
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 128 We descried a ship..we edged towards her to see what she was.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xiii. 60 Be yare at the helme, edge in with him.
a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1651) v. 60 Publiquely edging nearer the holy mother Church.
1630 J. Taylor Wks. iii. 41 The James..then edged vp in the winde.
1650 O. Cromwell Let. 4 Sept. in Writings & Speeches (1939) (modernized text) II. vii. 323 Causing their right wing of horse to edge down towards the sea.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses x. 47 He observ'd Frog and Old Lewis edging towards one another to whisper.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 265 They..stood edging in for the Shore.
1777 J. Cook Voy. S. Pole II. iii. vii. 87 On edging off from the shore, we soon got out of sounding.
1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. I. 382 Rear-Admiral Knowles..kept edging down on the enemy.
1832 F. Marryat Newton Forster III. iv. 50 The..admiral edged away with his squadron.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxxiii. 283 The wind edged round a little more to the northward.
1863 M. Oliphant Salem Chapel I. xv. 275 He edged past the table in the back-parlour to the window.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher 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.
6.
a. transitive. To move by insensible degrees; to insinuate (something, oneself) into a place. With adverbs: To force (something) by imperceptible degrees away, in, off, out. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > by small degrees
edge1677
1677 Earl of Orrery Treat. Art of War 161 During the motion of your advanced Wing, to edge it, by degrees, and insensibly, towards, etc.
1695 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. (new ed.) §145. 266 Edging by Degrees their Chairs forwards.
1704 C. Davenant Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) IV. 245 If you believe him obstinate..advise me of it, for I can edge it [a wager] off.
1709 S. Centlivre Busie Body ii. i. 17 A Son of One and Twenty, who wants..to Edge himself into the Estate.
1812 L. Hunt in Examiner 31 Aug. 545/2 An opportunity..of edging himself into the paper.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 14 Every one edging his chair a little nearer.
1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm (1867) vii. 143 Christianity..is seen constantly at work edging away oppressions.
1883 Manch. Examiner 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (intransitive)] > gradually
to edge in1683
to work in1703
dribble1865
the mind > language > speech > interruption > interrupt (speech) [verb (transitive)] > interpose
interpone1523
interpose1605
to throw in1630
to edge in1683
to put in1693
interject1791
interjaculate1853
to drag in (into)1868
to chip in1872
interpolate1881
1683 D. A. Whole Art Converse 9 Without giving them so much time as to edge in a word.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. xii. 353 Andromache..contrived to edge in a smile.
c. To defeat by a small margin. North American.
ΚΠ
1953 Springfield (Mass.) Sunday Republican 20 Sept. 8 b (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.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke
take1578
stop1744
nip1752
block1772
drive1773
cut1816
draw1816
tip1816
poke1836
spoon1836
mow1844
to put up1845
smother1845
sky1849
crump1850
to pick up1851
pull1851
skyrocket1851
swipe1851
to put down1860
to get away1868
smite1868
snick1871
lift1874
crack1882
smack1882
off-drive1888
snip1890
leg1892
push1893
hook1896
flick1897
on-drive1897
chop1898
glance1898
straight drive1898
cart1903
edge1904
tonk1910
sweep1920
mishook1934
middle1954
square-drive1954
tickle1963
square-cut1976
slash1977
splice1982
paddle1986
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.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
edgev.2
/ɛdʒ/, U.S. /ɛdʒ/ To harrow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > sharpen (a thing) [verb (transitive)] > sharpen edge
edgea800
feather-edge1648
feather1782
fine-edge1824
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > harrow
edgea800
a800 Corpus Gloss. 1430 Occabat, egide.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. vi. 19 Canstow..Heggen oþer harwen · oþer swyn oþer gees dryue.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 325 To Edge, to Harrow.
1717 Dict. Rusticum (ed. 2) To Edge..a Country-word for to harrow.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.OE
v.11297
v.2a800