selvage

or sel·vedge

[ sel-vij ]

/ ˈsɛl vɪdʒ /

SEE 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.

Words nearby selvage

sellout, selma, selsyn, seltzer, selva, selvage, selves, selye, selznick, sem, sem.

Origin of selvage

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

OTHER WORDS FROM selvage

sel·vaged, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH selvage

salvage selvage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for selvage

Then Dolly arose, and with one hand grasping the selvage of the curtain, fixed one long gaze upon her father's corpse.
Springhaven|R. D. Blackmore
The selvage is more closely woven and will draw or pucker in laundrying.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson
Lay the material so that the selvage runs lengthwise, that is, from head to foot.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft|Effie Archer Archer
If the hem is turned down once and cat stitched, it will resemble the selvage more than a twice turned hem.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson

Along the selvage of many of the new roads we have foretold, his hens will peck and his children beg, far into the coming decades.
Anticipations|Herbert George Wells

British Dictionary definitions for selvage

selvage

selvedge

/ (ˈsɛlvɪdʒ) /

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 forms of selvage

selvaged, 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