Edging

How to spell edging

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce edging

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does edging mean?

1. nounA strip of material that forms or finishes the border of a lawn, path, or fabric.
2. verbMoving slowly and cautiously, little by little, in a particular direction.

Edging in a sentence

• noun

  The new lawn edging keeps the gravel from spilling onto the grass.

• verb

  He kept edging towards the exit during the long meeting.

• noun

  She sewed a lace edging around the cushion cover.

• verb

  The cat was edging along the narrow ledge.

Where does edging come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the Old English noun 'ecg', meaning the sharp side or cutting border of a blade, which is the very same ancestor that gives us the modern noun 'edge'. The Germanic root behind it described a corner, angle, or point, and relatives survive across the language family, including German 'Ecke' for a corner. Over the centuries 'edge' broadened from the literal blade meaning to cover any boundary, margin, or rim, and from there it became a verb meaning to give something a border or to move little by little along a margin. The form 'edging' is simply that verb or noun extended with the productive '-ing' suffix, used both for the slow sideways movement and for the strip of material that finishes a border. Because the soft 'g' sound is spelled with a plain 'g' followed by the suffix, writers sometimes hesitate over whether a silent 'e' or a doubled letter belongs in the middle, but the rule is tidy: 'edge' simply drops its final 'e' before adding '-ing'.

How the word is built

• edge (border, sharp side)
• -ing (noun/verbal suffix)