edge
edge / ej/ • n. 1. the outside limit of an object, area, or surface; a place or part farthest away from the center of something: a willow tree at the water's edge. ∎ an area next to a steep drop: the cliff edge. ∎ [in sing.] the point or state immediately before something unpleasant or momentous occurs: the economy was teetering on the edge of recession.2. the sharpened side of the blade of a cutting implement or weapon: a knife with a razor-sharp edge. ∎ the line along which two surfaces of a solid meet. ∎ a sharp, threatening, or bitter tone of voice, usually indicating the speaker's annoyance or tension: she was still smiling, but there was an edge to her voice. ∎ an intense, sharp, or striking quality: a flamenco singer brings a primitive edge to the music. ∎ a quality or factor that gives superiority over close rivals or competitors: the veal had the edge on flavor.• v. [tr.] 1. (often be edged) provide with a border or edge: the pool is edged with paving.2. [intr.] move gradually, carefully, or furtively in a particular direction: she tried to edge away from him. ∎ [tr.] inf. defeat by a small margin: Connecticut avoided an upset and edged Yale 49–48.3. [intr.] ski with one's weight on the edges of one's skis.PHRASES: on edge tense, nervous, or irritable: never had she felt so on edge before an interview.on the edge of one's seat inf. very excited and giving one's full attention to something.set someone's teeth on edge (esp. of an unpleasantly harsh sound) cause someone to feel intense discomfort or irritation.take the edge off reduce the intensity or effect of (something unpleasant or severe): the tablets will take the edge off the pain.DERIVATIVES: edged adj. [in comb.] a black-edged handkerchief. ORIGIN: Old English ecg ‘sharpened side of a blade,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch egge and German Ecke, also to Old Norse eggja, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin acies ‘edge’ and Greek akis ‘point.’
edge
1. A crystal consists of a three-dimensional stacking of a unit cell defined by a space lattice. In crystallography, the three edges of the lattice are labelled a, b, and c (or x,y, and z), and they define both the edges of crystals in the seven crystal systems and their crystallographic axes.
2. In remote sensing, a boundary between area of different tones. See also EDGE ENHANCEMENT.
edge
Hence edge vb. give an edge to XIII; incite XVI (cf. EGG2).