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.
Meanings
Outside the mainstream.
So was the cellist Charlotte Moorman, muse to Nam June Paik and proactivist champion of all things fringe. 2015 September 7, Holland Cotter, “Exhibitions Where Moral Force Trumps Market Forces”, in New York Times:
fi raja- (outside the mainstream) · bg маргинален (outside the mainstream) · sh rubni (outside the mainstream) · sv alternativ- (outside the mainstream) · sv rand- (outside the mainstream) · pt marginal (outside the mainstream) · nl marginaal (outside the mainstream) · cs okrajový (outside the mainstream) · cmn 非主流的 (outside the mainstream) · fr marginal (outside the mainstream) · it secondario (outside the mainstream) · fi marginaali- (outside the mainstream) · ca marginal (outside the mainstream) · ru маргинальный (outside the mainstream) · it marginale (outside the mainstream) · it di nicchia (outside the mainstream) · sv marginal- (outside the mainstream) · de Rand- (outside the mainstream) · sh marginalan (outside the mainstream) · sv avantgarde- (outside the mainstream)
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.
Meanings
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. 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 118:
(broadly) A decorative border. ▸ A border or edging.
He walked up the heath’s western edge, beside a fringe of scrub where hogweed grew in tangles and brambles rose taller than him. 2020 March 5, Tom Lamont, “The invisible city: how a homeless man built a life underground”, in The Guardian:
(also, figuratively) A marginal or peripheral part.
the confines of grace and the fringes of repentance 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
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. 2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport:
A group of people situated on the periphery of a larger community.
About an hour later, the two were sitting at a comparatively isolated table in a restaurant called Sickler’s, downtown, a highly favored place among, chiefly, the intellectual fringe of students at the college—the same students, more or less, who, had they been Yale or Harvard men, might rather too casually have steered their dates away from Mory’s or Cronin’s. 1955, J. D. Salinger, “Franny”, in Franny and Zooey, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, published 1991, →ISBN, page 10:
(also, attributive) A group of people situated on the periphery of a larger community. ▸ Those members of a political party, or any social group, holding extremist or unorthodox views.
a fringe group of the party
The periphery of an area, especially a town or city.
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. 1961 October, ""Voyageur"", “The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 598:
He lives on the fringe of London.
(Australia) The periphery of an area, especially a town or city. ▸ Used attributively with reference to Aboriginal people living on the edge of towns etc.
All the fringe people thought it was such a good house, ingenious in fact, and erected similar makeshift housing for themselves. 2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 20:
(UK) Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle where it is cut straight across.
Ingeborg knew she wasn′t ready for fringes or short hair like some of the women she′d seen, and she hoped her daughter wasn′t either.
“No.” Astrid′s tone dismissed Sophie and the fringe as she galloped off to a new topic. 2007, Lauraine Snelling, Sophie's Dilemma, page 16:
Set against the seductive visual and textual imagery of these soft-focus fantasy worlds, the stock list details offer the reader a very real solution to achieving the look themselves, ‘Hair, including coloured fringes (obtainable from Joseph, £3.50) by Paul Nix’ (Baker 1972a: 68). 2009, Geraldine Biddle-Perry, Sarah Cheang, Hair: Styling, Culture and Fashion, page 231:
Fayne in the photograph had a fringe, hair frizzed over hidden ears, sleeves over-ornate, the whole thing out of keeping. 1981, Hilda Doolittle, HERmione, page 155:
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. 1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “Chapter LXXXVIII”, in Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:
A light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light.
interference fringe
Non-mainstream theatre.
Edinburgh Fringe
Adelaide Fringe
The Fringe
The peristome or fringe-like appendage of the capsules of most mosses.
fi laitama (the periphery of a city) · ota صاچاق (decorative border) · de Einfassung (decorative border) · mi kurupatu (decorative border) · pt orla (decorative border) · bg покрайнини (the periphery of a city) · fr radicaux (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · de Peripherie (the periphery of a city) · fi reunakoriste (decorative border) · pt franja (hanging hair over the forehead) · ru перифери́я (the periphery of a city) · fi reuna (peripheral part) · tr perçem (hanging hair over the forehead) · gd iomall (the periphery of a city) · sv experimentell teater (non-mainstream theatre) · ru бахрома́ (decorative border) · fi laitakaupunki (the periphery of a city) · haw lihi (decorative border) · grc κράσπεδον (decorative border) · ru окаймление (decorative border) · da rand (peripheral part) · eo franĝo (decorative border) · nl radicalen (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · fi reuna-alue (peripheral part) · gd iomall (peripheral part) · enm frenge (decorative border) · de Randbezirk (the periphery of a city) · hu rojt (decorative border) · pl grzywka (hanging hair over the forehead) · pt extremista (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · sv avantgardeteater (non-mainstream theatre) · cmn 边缘 (the periphery of a city) · pt franja (decorative border) · bg маргинали (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · is kögur (decorative border) · sh difrakcioni red (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · ca perifèria (the periphery of a city) · sh kićanka (decorative border) · pt periferia (the periphery of a city) · cmn 劉海 /刘海 (hanging hair over the forehead) · sv gränstrakt (peripheral part) · da frynse (decorative border) · gd iomall (non-mainstream theatre) · fr théâtre alternatif (non-mainstream theatre) · oc franja (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · pt borda (decorative border) · sh periferija (peripheral part) · bg бретон (hanging hair over the forehead) · az birçək (hanging hair over the forehead) · eo marĝenularo (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · ga ciumhais (peripheral part) · bg бордюр (decorative border) · ca radical (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · ru перифе́рия (peripheral part) · da yderkant (peripheral part) · ca perifèria (peripheral part) · da periferi (peripheral part) · fr périphérie (the periphery of a city) · bg ръб (peripheral part) · sv lugg (hanging hair over the forehead) · nb ytterkant (peripheral part) · de Franse (decorative border) · kea bóka (decorative border) · pt periferia (peripheral part) · no frynse (decorative border) · ar هُدُب (decorative border) · sk strapce (decorative border) · oc barri (the periphery of a city) · oc franja (decorative border) · nl franje (decorative border) · nn ytterkant (peripheral part) · oc franja (the periphery of a city) · tr kâkül (hanging hair over the forehead) · it periferia (peripheral part) · ru кайма́ (decorative border) · pl ubocze (the periphery of a city) · es orla (decorative border) · az saçaq (decorative border) · cmn 流苏 (decorative border) · bg дифракционна ивица (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · eo marĝeno (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · fr théâtre d'avant-garde (non-mainstream theatre) · de Rand (peripheral part) · scn zazza (decorative border) · it frangia (decorative border) · ga glib (hanging hair over the forehead) · nl rand (peripheral part) · mi kawekawe (peripheral part) · ang fæs (decorative border) · nl franje (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · ca orla (decorative border) · nl periferie (the periphery of a city) · de Pony (hanging hair over the forehead) · zza ziyed (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · sv ytterområde (the periphery of a city) · es flequillo (hanging hair over the forehead) · cs třepení (decorative border) · ga colbha cathrach (the periphery of a city) · sv frans (decorative border) · ang fnæs (decorative border) · cmn 周边 (the periphery of a city) · ru полоса́ (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · it radicale (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · ru окра́ина (the periphery of a city) · de Randgebiet (the periphery of a city) · fi raita (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · hu frufru (hanging hair over the forehead) · tl palawingwing (peripheral part) · sv utkant (peripheral part) · oc franja (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · tr aşırı (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · cmn 穗 (decorative border) · fr frange (d'interférence) (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · de Peripherie (peripheral part) · pl frędzel (decorative border) · ang fnæd (decorative border) · sa दशा (decorative border) · it teatro m di nicchia (non-mainstream theatre) · cs ofina (hanging hair over the forehead) · sv ytterområde (peripheral part) · oc teatre experimental (non-mainstream theatre) · de Saum (decorative border) · it frangia (light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light) · haw lihi (peripheral part) · sv rand (peripheral part) · cs třáseň (decorative border) · it periferia (the periphery of a city) · ar هُدْب (decorative border) · fr frange (decorative border) · el κροσσός (decorative border) · fr périphérie (peripheral part) · fi vaihtoehtoteatteri (non-mainstream theatre) · ru край (peripheral part) · bg край (peripheral part) · nl buitenwijken (the periphery of a city) · sv periferi (peripheral part) · sv utkant (the periphery of a city) · la limbus (decorative border) · pt radical (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · de Rand- (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · sh resa (decorative border) · izh marha (decorative border) · egy s-d-b-S28 (decorative border) · fi siipi (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · de Randgruppe (members of a social group holding unorthodox views) · de Stirnfranse (hanging hair over the forehead) · mi kihukihu (hanging hair over the forehead) · oc periferia (the periphery of a city) · gd oir (peripheral part) · oc periferia (peripheral part) · sh rojta (decorative border) · ru оторо́чка (decorative border) · mi kihukihu (decorative border)
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.
Meanings
(transitive) 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. 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 24:
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. 1887, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “The Frost King and How the Fairies Conquered Him”, in Lulu’s Library, volume II, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 10:
(transitive) To serve as a fringe; to border.
The Japanese Archipelago, fringing the eastern edge of Asia, has a rich avifauna, including what is probably the rarest bird in the world - the Toki or Japanese Crested Ibis, and one of the most recently discovered birds - the Okinawa Rail. 1982, A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan, Tokyo: Kodansha International, page 8:
Purple bonnets fringed soft, pink, querulous faces on pillows in bath chairs. 1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Jacob's Room:
Forms
Spelling
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Labels
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fringing
Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
fringes
Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres
lexicographic
fringed
Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part
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fringed
Tense=Past
lexicographic
Translations (21)
es orlar (to decorate with fringe) · it decorare con frange (to decorate with fringe) · fi reunustaa (to serve as a fringe) · it decorare con una frangia (to decorate with fringe) · nl van franjes voorzien (to decorate with fringe) · fi hapsuttaa (to decorate with fringe) · ru окантовывать (to serve as a fringe) · it fungere da frangia (to serve as a fringe) · ru окаймлять (to serve as a fringe) · ru окантовывать (to decorate with fringe) · ru отделывать (to decorate with fringe) · nl omzomen (to decorate with fringe) · sh uresiti (to decorate with fringe) · ru обрамлять (to serve as a fringe) · ru окантовать (to decorate with fringe) · ru отделать (to decorate with fringe) · bg поръбвам (to decorate with fringe) · sh ukrasiti resama (to decorate with fringe) · fr franger (to decorate with fringe) · nl met franjes versieren (to decorate with fringe) · nl van franjes voorzien (to serve as a fringe)