n.
- a border of threads, tassels, or twists, used to edge clothing or material.
- chiefly Brit. the front part of someone's hair, cut so as to hang over the forehead.
▸a natural border of hair or fibres in an animal or plant.
- the outer or marginal part of something.
▸
[
as modifier]
not part of the mainstream; unconventional:
fringe theatre.
- a band of contrasting brightness or darkness produced by diffraction or interference of light.
▸a strip of false colour in an optical image.
- US short for fringe benefit.
v.
provide with or form a fringe.
Derivative
- fringeless adj.
- fringing n.
- fringy adj.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. frenge, based on late L. fimbria, earlier a pl. noun meaning ‘fibres, shreds’.