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fringe

noun
/fɹɪnd͡ʒ/US

Etymology

From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbriae (“fibers, threads, fringe”, plural), of uncertain origin. Compare German Franse and Danish frynse. Displaced native Middle English fnæd (“fringe”), Middle English byrd (“fringe”), Middle English fasel (“fringe”) from Old English fæs (“fringe”), and Old English fnæs (“fringe”). Doublet of fimbria.

  1. derived from fimbriae — “fibers, threads, fringe”
  2. derived from *frimbia✻
  3. derived from frenge
  4. inherited from frenge

Definitions

  1. A decorative border.

    • the fringe of a picture
    • The walls were hung with blue silk, edged with silver fringe; and the closely-drawn blue velvet curtains swept the ground.

  2. A marginal or peripheral part.

    • the confines of grace and the fringes of repentance
    • Dos Santos, who has often been on the fringes at Spurs since moving from Barcelona, whipped in a fantastic cross that Pavlyuchenko emphatically headed home for his first goal of the season.

  3. A group of people situated on the periphery of a larger community.

  4. ›+ 10 more definitions

    1. The periphery of an area, especially a town or city.

      • He lives on the fringe of London.
      • Moreover, although a number of lines penetrate to the fringes of the English Lake District, this is the only one which actually passes through it.

    2. Synonym of bangs

      Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle where it is cut straight across.

      • Her fringe is so long it covers her eyes.
      • In a few minutes Mrs. Athelny appeared. She had taken her hair out of the curling pins and now wore an elaborate fringe.
      • Fayne in the photograph had a fringe, hair frizzed over hidden ears, sleeves over-ornate, the whole thing out of keeping.

    3. A light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light.

      • interference fringe

    4. Non-mainstream theatre.

      • The Fringe
      • Edinburgh Fringe
      • Adelaide Fringe

    5. The peristome or fringe-like appendage of the capsules of most mosses.

    6. The area around the green.

    7. A daypart that precedes or follows prime time.

    8. Outside the mainstream.

      • So was the cellist Charlotte Moorman, muse to Nam June Paik and proactivist champion of all things fringe.

    9. To decorate with fringe.

      • [Y]onder cloud / That rises upward always higher, / ⁠And onward drags a labouring breast, / ⁠And topples round the dreary west, / A looming bastion fringed with fire.
      • Presently she saw the King's palace. Pillars of ice held up the roof fringed with icicles, which would have sparkled splendidly if there had been any sun.

    10. To serve as a fringe

      To serve as a fringe; to border.

      • Purple bonnets fringed soft, pink, querulous faces on pillows in bath chairs.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for fringe. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA