fringe

[frinj]

noun

a decorative border of thread, cord, or the like, usually hanging loosely from a raveled edge or separate strip.

anything resembling or suggesting this: a fringe of grass around a swimming pool.

an outer edge; margin; periphery: on the fringe of the art world.

something regarded as peripheral, marginal, secondary, or extreme in relation to something else: the lunatic fringe of a strong political party.

Optics. one of the alternate light and dark bands produced by diffraction or interference.

fringe benefit.

verb (used with object), fringed, fring·ing.

to furnish with or as if with a fringe.

to serve as a fringe for, or to be arranged around or along so as to suggest a fringe: armed guards fringing the building.

Nearby words

Origin of fringe

1325–75; Middle English frenge < Old French (French frange) < Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathetic variant of Late Latin fimbria, Latin fimbriae fringe

SYNONYMS FOR fringe

2. edge, border, skirt, rim.

Related forms

fringe·less, adjectivefringe·like, adjectivefring·y, adjectiveun·der·fringe, noun

un·fringe, verb (used with object), un·fringed, un·fring·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fringy

Here the trees grew to immense heights before they put forth their crown of fringy foliage.
The Motor Maids by Palm and Pine|Katherine Stokes
When they so cut them, they get fringy—and such fringes are more long than other fringes.
The Story of Opal|Opal Whiteley
My jacket collar is all fringy round the edges, and the top button is split.
Glory and the Other Girl|Annie Hamilton Donnell
It can be planted as a border, since it grows low and has a fringy, decorative effect.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.|Ellen Eddy Shaw

Their long branches will be a mass of flowers with fringy petals and a yellow centre.
Amateur Gardencraft|Eben E. Rexford

British Dictionary definitions for fringy

fringe

noun

an edging consisting of hanging threads, tassels, etc

an outer edge; periphery
(as modifier)fringe dwellers; a fringe area

(modifier) unofficial; not conventional in formfringe theatre

mainly British a section of the front hair cut short over the forehead

an ornamental border or margin

physics any of the light and dark or coloured bands produced by diffraction or interference of light

verb (tr)

to adorn or fit with a fringe or fringes

to be a fringe forfur fringes the satin

Derived Formsfringeless, adjective

Word Origin for fringe

C14: from Old French frenge, ultimately from Latin fimbria fringe, border; see fimbria

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fringy

fringe

early 14c., from Old French frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem" (early 14c.), from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathesis of Latin fimbriae (plural) "fibers, threads, fringe," of uncertain origin. Figurative sense of "outer edge, margin," is first recorded 1894. Related: Fringes. Fringe benefits is recorded from 1952.

fringe

late 15c., from fringe (n.). Related: Fringed; fringing.