selvage

or sel·vedge

[sel-vij]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR selvage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling, often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of the fabric.

any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

Also called margin. Philately. the surplus paper or margin around a sheet of stamps: The number of the plate block appears in the selvage.

a plate or surface through which a bolt of a lock passes.

Origin of selvage

1425–75; late Middle English, respelling of self + edge, modeled on Middle Dutch selfegghe (Dutch zelfegge)

Related formssel·vaged, adjective

Can be confusedsalvage selvage

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

Related Words for selvage

edge, limit, surplus, threshold, brink, fringe, boundary, line, outskirt, skirt, verge, extra, frame, bound, rim, leeway, brim, space, hem, field

Examples from the Web for selvage

Historical Examples of selvage

Grifone saw the shape of her in it, saw her hand at the selvage.
Little Novels of Italy
Maurice Henry Hewlett
If the lock has a selvage, gain out the edge of the door or drawer to receive it.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
But lend me the needle, and I'll see what I can do with the selvage.
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition
Rudyard Kipling
The selvage is more closely woven and will draw or pucker in laundrying.
Textiles and Clothing
Kate Heintz Watson
Corded silks are woven with a cord running from selvage to selvage.
Textiles and Clothing
Kate Heintz Watson

British Dictionary definitions for selvage

selvage

selvedge

noun

the finished nonfraying edge of a length of woven fabric

a similar strip of material allowed in fabricating a metal or plastic article, used esp for handling components during manufacture

Derived Formsselvaged, adjective

Word Origin for selvage

C15: from self + edge; related to Dutch selfegghe, German Selbende

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 selvage

mid-15c., "edge of web or cloth so finished as to prevent raveling," apparently literally "its own edge," a corruption of self + edge (n.); on analogy of Middle Flemish selvegge (cf. also Low German sulfegge; Dutch zelfkant, from kant "border;" Middle High German selbende, German Selbend, literally "self-end").