verge

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To slope or incline.
• intransitive verb To tend to move in a particular direction.
• intransitive verb To pass or merge gradually.
• noun An edge or margin; a border. synonym: border.
• noun Architecture The edge of the tiling that projects over a roof gable.
• noun Chiefly British A grassy border, as along a road.
• noun The point beyond which an action, state, or condition is likely to begin or occur; the brink.
• noun A rod, wand, or staff carried as an emblem of authority or office.
• noun The spindle of a balance wheel in a clock or watch, especially such a spindle in a clock with vertical escapement.
• noun The male organ of copulation in certain mollusks.
• intransitive verb To approach the nature or condition of something specified; come close. Used with on.
• intransitive verb To be on the edge or border.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To border.
• To bend; slope: as, a hill that verges to the north.
• To tend; incline; approach; border.
• noun A rod, or something in the form of a rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority or ensign of office; the mace of a bishop, dean, or other functionary.
• noun A stick or wand with which persons are admitted tenants, by holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. On this account such tenants are called tenants by the verge.
• noun In architecture: The shaft of a column; a small ornamental shaft, The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof, that on the horizontal part being called eaves.
• noun The spindle of the balance-wheel of a watch, especially that of the old vertical movement.
• noun An accentmark.
• noun A quantity of land, from 15 to 30 acres; a yard-land; a virgate.
• noun The extreme side or edge of anything; the brink; edge; border; margin.
• noun The horizon.
• noun A boundary; a limit; hence, anything that incloses or bounds, as a ring or circlet.
• noun The space within a boundary or limit; hence, room; scope; place; opportunity.
• noun In English law, the compass of the jurisdiction of the Court of Marshalsea, or palace-court.
• noun In a stocking-frame, a small piece of iron placed in front, of the needle-bar to regulate the position of the needles.
• noun In anatomy and zoology, the penis, especially that of various invertebrates.
• noun In horticulture, the grass edging of a bed or border; a slip of grass dividing the walks from the borders in a garden.
• noun The main beam of the trebuchet, a missile engine used in medieval warfare

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb To border upon; to tend; to incline; to come near; to approach.
• intransitive verb To tend downward; to bend; to slope.
• noun A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority.
• noun engraving The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge.
• noun (Eng. Law) The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king's household had special jurisdiction; -- so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore.
• noun obsolete A virgate; a yardland.
• noun A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent.
• noun A circumference; a circle; a ring.
• noun The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft.
• noun The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof.
• noun (Horol.) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement.
• noun The edge or outside of a bed or border.
• noun A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.
• noun The penis.
• noun (Zoöl.) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb intransitive To be or come very close; to border; to approach.
• noun A rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.