Etymology 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.
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.
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An edge or border.
Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favourable to it, the theory[…]implies an absurdity.1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy:
But on the horizon's verge descried, Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail.1852, Matthew Arnold, Stanzas from Carnac:
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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.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
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Australia, New Zealand, UK, Western The grassy area between the footpath and the street; a tree lawn; a grassed strip running alongside either side of an outback road.
The shoulders are graded and the verges cleared well back to lessen the chances of hitting stray stock.2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 129:
On the other side of the car, another armed officer was seen attending to the passenger, who was lying on a grassy verge.2026 June 29, Kate Connolly, “Six adults killed in shooting at youth welfare facility in Stade, Germany”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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Figuratively An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.
I was on the verge of tears.
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.1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 113:
Biology, Natural sciences, ZoologyObsolete The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc.
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An old measure of land: a virgate or yardland.
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A circumference; a circle; a ring.
The inclusive verge Of golden metal that must round my brow.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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
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Architecture The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
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Architecture The eaves or edge of the roof that projects over the gable of a roof.
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 .1885, Edward S. Morse, Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings:
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Hobbies, Horology, Lifestyle The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement.
Etymology 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.