Verging

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To gradually approach an edge or boundary while nearing a limit or point that is almost attained, as well as coming close to a particular state or condition without complete arrival
2. The act of moving toward a boundary or edge entails nearing a limit or a point that is almost reached, along with approaching a specific state or condition without fully arriving there
3. Moving toward a boundary or margin ; getting close to a threshold or maximum ; nearly attaining a particular status or situation

Etymology: The verb "verging" comes from "verge," which has two lines of ancestry that ended up merging. One is Latin "vergō," meaning "to bend, turn, tend toward, incline," rooted in an ancient word for turning. The other is the noun "verge," a rod or wand of office, borrowed from Middle French and ultimately from Latin "virga," meaning "shoot" or "rod." The verb's sense of approaching an edge owes much to the noun's influence, so the two strands blended over time. The noun's history is the more surprising one. In medieval English law, the "verge" was the area within a 12-mile radius around the royal court, placed under the authority of the Lord High Steward, who was symbolized by his rod of office. Being "within the verge" meant being subject to that authority. The idea of a boundary zone around the court gradually became the more general sense of the outermost edge of an area, which is where the modern verb picks up its meaning of drawing close to a limit.

Synonyms: bordering, approaching, near, adjoining, touching

Antonyms: departing, diverging, straying, separating, dissociating