fringe
Pronunciation: (frinj), [key]
— n., v., fringed, fring•ing.
—n.
- 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.
- one of the alternate light and dark bands produced by diffraction or interference.
- See
—v.t.
- 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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.