fringe

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /frɪndʒ/ UK /frɪndʒ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a decorative border of threads; the outer edge or margin

A leather fringe trimmed the edge of the old riding jacket.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a decorative border of... border edge margin periphery trim tassel brink perimeter

Opposites

center core middle mainstream

Word family

Derived forms fringedfringingfringeless

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

interference fringe
a light or dark band formed when waves of light interfere

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbria ('fringe, border, fibers').

fimbria Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# fringe

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /frɪndʒ/
**IPA (UK):** /frɪndʒ/

## Meanings
1. a decorative border of threads; the outer edge or margin

## Examples
- A leather fringe trimmed the edge of the old riding jacket.

## Synonyms
- border
- edge
- margin
- periphery
- trim
- tassel
- brink
- perimeter

## Antonyms
- center
- core
- middle
- mainstream

## Derived Forms
- fringed
- fringing
- fringeless

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fimbria

## Etymology
From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbria ('fringe, border, fibers').

## AI Etymology
Fringe comes from Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbria ('fringe, border, fibers'). The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun and adjective meaning "a decorative border of threads; the outer edge or margin", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as fringed, fringing, and fringeless, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin fimbria, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by border, edge, margin, and periphery on one side and contrasts such as center, core, and middle on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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