Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The edge of a fabric, especially one that is woven or knit so that it will not fray, ravel, or curl.
  • noun An ornamental fringe at either end of an Oriental rug.
  • noun The edge plate of a lock that has a slot for a bolt.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In the making of tin-plate or galvanized iron, a thin ridge or list of the coating metal at the lower edge of the plate where capillary action resists the draining action when the sheet is on edge to allow the excess of fluid coating to run off.
  • To hem.
  • noun The edge of a web or textile fabric so finished that it does not allow of raveling out the weft.
  • noun That part of a web at either edge which is not finished like the surface of the cloth, and which is meant to be torn away when the material is made up, or for use in making the seam. See list, 2.
  • noun 3. In mining, the part of a vein or lode adjacent to the walls on each side, and generally consisting of flucan or gouge.
  • noun The edge-plate of a lock, through which the bolt shoots.
  • noun Same as selvagee.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The edge of cloth which is woven in such a manner as to prevent raveling.
  • noun The edge plate of a lock, through which the bolt passes.
  • noun (Mining.) A layer of clay or decomposed rock along the wall of a vein. See Gouge, n., 4.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun weaving The edge of a woven fabric, where the weft (side-to-side) threads run around the warp (top to bottom) threads, creating a finished edge.
  • noun Any edge of fabric finished so as to prevent raveling.
  • noun printing The excess area of any printed or perforated sheet, such as the border on a sheet of postage stamps or the wide margins of an engraving.
  • noun geology A distinct border of a mass of igneous rock. It is usually fine-grained or glassy due to rapid cooling.
  • noun geology Clay-like material found along and around a geological fault.
  • noun The edge plate of a lock, through which the bolt passes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun border consisting of an ornamental fringe at either end of an oriental carpet
  • noun the edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not ravel or fray

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English (influenced by Middle Low German selfegge) : self, self; see self + egge, edge; see edge.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

A corruption of "self-edge".

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Examples

  • She was certain she could swim in that sea if she could once get through what she called the selvage-wave.

    Somehow Good William Frend De Morgan 1878

  • And "selvage," escaping the first and last objections, may be thought to incur the middle one.

    A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century George Saintsbury 1889

  • Just fold the dress in half in the front and lay it on the folded fabric, leaving 5/8 approximate seam allowance on the seam areas, and cut around it til you get to the shoulder and armhole. roll back the back part and cut around the armhole and shoulder. fold the back of the dress in half and lay it on the selvage edges or on fold, and cut around it.

    Portrait in Blue, by Gabriel Nicolet, 1856-1921 2009

  • For all Mr. Touitou's grumbling, his 24-year-old label is deeply beloved by bespectacled creative types for its simple, chic, well-tailored staples and in particular its hugely popular, practically iconic raw-denim selvage jeans.

    Jean Touitou, A.P.C. Designer 2011

  • His solution was to make his own flight jackets, chambray work shirts, loop-wheeled cotton sweatshirts and selvage blue jeans.

    Made Better in Japan Tom Downey 2012

  • If not, the easiest thing to do is align the selvage edge the long side with the edge of a table and align the cut edge with the perpendicular edge of the table.

    Make A Snuggie You’d Be Proud To Wear | Lifehacker Australia 2010

  • Heather Rose Jones @ 535: and if the Zomvamwelf bites a weaver, you get a zomvamweft...at which point I'm not sure you can selvage the situation...

    Making Light: Rowling's being sued for plagiarism again 2010

  • You can hem them, and the sides will be on the selvage so you don't need to hem that part.

    Living Beautifully With the New Frugality 2008

  • My favorite so far is a fleeting moment with an otherwise indifferent pattern maker named Mr. Levy who could not care less what he sews or for whom, but knows how to fall in love with a fine piece of Japanese selvage.

    How Do You Dress for Success, Sir? Nancy deWolf Smith 2010

  • A large rosy oval with a coral fringe and then a reddish speckled border and a thin dusting of coralline, another selvage fading into lotioned whiteness.

    Peggy Guggenheim Visits Picasso's Bathroom 2010

Comments

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  • ok, i read the wikipedia entry on this but am still confused. when i see this word on designer jeans on eBay, does it mean they're like, from the edge of the roll? seconds? unsalable? all of the above?

    September 29, 2007

  • Wikipedia: selvage denim

    A variation is selvedge.

    September 29, 2007

  • yes. that is a more better wikipedia link. thank you. i understand what makes that kind of denim desirable.

    September 29, 2007

  • In stamp collecting, the margins on a sheet or pane of stamps. It may contain printer's markings or other information.

    August 26, 2008

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