verge

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /vɜːd͡ʒ/

  • Audio (Queensland):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /vɝd͡ʒ/

  • Audio (Southern California):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ

Borrowed from Middle French verge (“rod or wand of office”), hence "scope, territory dominated", from Latin virga (“shoot, rod stick”), of unknown origin. Earliest attested sense in English is now-obsolete meaning "male member, penis" (c.1400). Modern sense is from the notion of 'within the verge' (1509, also as Anglo-Norman dedeinz la verge), i.e. "subject to the Lord High Steward's authority" (as symbolized by the rod of office), originally a 12-mile radius round the royal court, which sense shifted to "the outermost edge of an expanse or area." Doublet of virga.

verge (plural verges)

1. A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.
   1. (UK, historical) The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.
2. An edge or border.
   • 1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy:

     Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favourable to it, the theory implies an absurdity.

   • 1852, Matthew Arnold, Stanzas from Carnac:

     But on the horizon's verge descried,
     Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.

   • 1879, R J, chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., , →OCLC:

     It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.

   1. (UK, Western Australia, New Zealand) The grassy area between the footpath and the street; a tree lawn; a grassed strip running alongside either side of an outback road.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:verge

      • 2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 129:

        The shoulders are graded and the verges cleared well back to lessen the chances of hitting stray stock.

   2. (figuratively) An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.

      I was on the verge of tears.

      • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 113:

        The tremendous tragedy in which he had been involved – it was evident he was a fugitive from Weybridge - had driven him to the very verge of his reason.

3. (obsolete) The phallus.
   1. (zoology) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc.
4. An old measure of land: a virgate or yardland.
5. A circumference; a circle; a ring.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     The inclusive verge
     Of golden metal that must round my brow.

6. (architecture) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
8. (architecture) The eaves or edge of the roof that projects over the gable of a roof.
   • 1885, Edward S. Morse, Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings:

     The smaller ribs of tiles that run down to the eaves, along the ridges in a hip-roof, or border the verge in a gable-roof , often terminate in some ornamental tile in high-relief .

9. (horology) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement.

Borrowed from Latin vergō (“to bend, turn, tend toward, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *werg- (“to turn”), from a root *wer- (“to turn, bend”) (compare versus); strongly influenced by the above noun.

verge (third-person singular simple present verges, present participle verging, simple past and past participle verged)

1. (intransitive) To be or come very close; to border; to approach.

   Eating blowfish verges on insanity.

2. To bend or incline; to tend downward; to slope.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “verge”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “verge”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Inherited from Old Catalan verge~vergen, from Latin virginem.

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencia)

verge m or f (masculine and feminine plural verges or vèrgens)

1. virgin

   Synonym: poncell

2. virgin (not used, exploited, or processed)

   oli d'oliva verge extra - extra virgin olive oil

   selva verge - virgin forest

verge m or f by sense (plural verges or vèrgens)

1. virgin

   Synonyms: poncell, poncella

• “verge”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies , 2007 April
• “verge”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “verge” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “verge” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

verge

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of vergen

Inherited from Middle French verge (“rod or wand of office”), hence "scope, territory dominated", from Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga (“shoot, rod stick”), of uncertain origin, but probably from a Proto-Indo-European *wisgeh₂ (“flexible rod or stick”). Doublet of vergue.

• IPA^(key): /vɛʁʒ/

• Audio:

  (file)

verge f (plural verges)

1. rod
2. (vulgar, informal) penis (male sexual organ)

   Synonym: pénis

3. (Canada) yard

• → Spanish: verja

• “verge”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

• grève

• verze

From Vulgar Latin *virdia (see for cognates), from syncopation of Latin viridia, neuter plural of viridis (“green”).

verge f (plural vergis)

1. cabbage

• vert

verge

1. second-person singular present active imperative of vergō

• vergè IPA^(key):
• vérge IPA^(key):

vergè

1. locative singular of vérgas (“slave”)

vérge

1. vocative singular of vérgas (“slave”)

From Old French verge, virge, from Latin virga.

verge f (plural verges)

1. rod; stick; staff
   • Exodus, the Bible

     Moyse ietta en la terre la verge qu'il tenoit dans sa main elle fust soudain changé en serpent

     Moses throw on the ground the staff that he held in is hand suddenly, it changes into a serpent

• English: verge
• French: verge

From Old French verge, vierge, virge, from virgene, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō.

verge f (plural verges)

1. female virgin (female person who has never had sexual intercourse)

• French: vierge

• IPA^(key): /ˈvêr.ɡə/
• (flapped rhotic) IPA^(key):
• (uvular rhotic) IPA^(key):

From Old Norse verja. Compare Danish værge, Faroese verja, Icelandic verja, Swedish värja.

verge (present tense verger, past tense verga or verget, past participle verga or verget)

1. (transitive) to protect

• vergemål (“guardianship”)

From the verb.

verge m (definite singular vergen, indefinite plural verger, definite plural vergene)

1. (literary, rare) a protector, defender
2. (law) a guardian, conservator; a person appointed to manage the affairs of others

   Synonym: formynder

verge n (definite singular verget, indefinite plural verg, definite plural verga or vergene)

1. weapon used for defense
2. custody

   Synonyms: varetekt, forvaring

• verja, verje (Nynorsk)

• “verge” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “verge” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From a shortening of earlier forms virgine, virgene, from Latin virginem, accusative singular of virgō, possibly a borrowing.

• vierche
• vierge
• virge

verge oblique singular, f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)

1. virgin (one who has never had sex)

verge m (oblique and nominative feminine singular verge)

1. virgin; virginal

• Often capitalized as la Verge when referring to the Virgin Mary

• Middle French: verge
  • French: vierge

From Latin virga.

• virge

verge oblique singular, f (oblique plural verges, nominative singular verge, nominative plural verges)

1. rod; stick; staff

• Middle French: verge
  • French: verge