verge

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The extreme edge or margin; a border. See Synonyms at border.
2. n. An enclosing boundary.
3. n. The space enclosed by such a boundary.
4. n. The point beyond which an action, state, or condition is likely to begin or occur; the brink: on the verge of tears; a nation on the verge of economic prosperity.
5. n. Architecture The edge of the tiling that projects over a roof gable.
6. n. Chiefly British The shoulder of a road.
7. n. A rod, wand, or staff carried as an emblem of authority or office.
8. n. Obsolete The rod held by a feudal tenant while swearing fealty to a lord.
9. n. The spindle of a balance wheel in a clock or watch, especially such a spindle in a clock with vertical escapement.
10. n. The male organ of copulation in certain invertebrates.
11. v. To approach the nature or condition of something specified; come close. Used with on: a brilliance verging on genius.
12. v. To be on the edge or border: Her land verges on the neighboring township.
13. v. To slope or incline.
14. v. To tend to move in a particular direction: "the Neoclassicism ... away from which they subsequently verged” ( Hugh Honour).
15. v. To pass or merge gradually: dusk verging into night.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A rod, or something in the form of rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority or ensign of office; the mace of a bishop, dean, or other functionary.
2. n. A stick or wand with which persons are admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. On this account such tenants are called tenants by the verge.
3. n. In architecture: The shaft of a column; a small ornamental shaft, The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof, that on the horizontal part being called eaves.
4. n. The spindle of the balance-wheel of a watch, especially that of the old vertical movement.
5. n. An accentmark.
6. n. A quantity of land, from 15 to 30 acres; a yard-land; a virgate.
7. n. The extreme side or edge of anything; the brink; edge; border; margin.
8. n. The horizon.
9. n. A boundary; a limit; hence, anything that incloses or bounds, as a ring or circlet.
10. n. The space within a boundary or limit; hence, room; scope; place; opportunity.
11. n. In English law, the compass of the jurisdiction of the Court of Marshalsea, or palace-court. It was an area of about twelve miles in circumference, embracing the royal palace, in which special provisions were made for peace and order.
12. n. In a stocking-frame, a small piece of iron placed in front, of the needle-bar to regulate the position of the needles.
13. n. In anatomy and zoology, the penis, especially that of various invertebrates.
14. n. In horticulture, the grass edging of a bed or border; a slip of grass dividing the walks from the borders in a garden.
15. n. The main beam of the trebuchet, a missile engine used in medieval warfare
16. To border.
17. To bend; slope: as, a hill that verges to the north.
18. To tend; incline; approach; border.

Wiktionary

1. n. A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.
2. n. An edge or border.
3. n. UK, Australia, New Zealand The grassy area between the sidewalk and the street; a tree lawn.
4. n. obsolete A male rod, phallus.
5. n. figuratively An extreme limit beyond which something specific will happen.
6. v. intransitive To be or come very close; to border; to approach.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority.
2. n. engraving The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.
3. n. (Eng. Law) The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king's household had special jurisdiction; -- so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore.
4. n. obsolete A virgate; a yardland.
5. n. A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent.
6. n. A circumference; a circle; a ring.
7. n. The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
8. n. The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.
9. n. (Horol.) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement.
10. n. The edge or outside of a bed or border.
11. n. A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.
12. n. The penis.
13. n. (Zoöl.) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.
14. v. To border upon; to tend; to incline; to come near; to approach.
15. v. To tend downward; to bend; to slope.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a ceremonial or emblematic staff
2. n. a region marking a boundary
3. n. the limit beyond which something happens or changes
4. n. a grass border along a road
5. v. border on; come close to