fringe
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
fringe
- /fɹɪnd͡ʒ/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɪndʒ
Where it comes from
From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbriae (“fibers, threads, fringe”, plural), of uncertain origin. Compare German Franse and Danish frynse. Displaced native Middle English fnæd (“fringe”), Middle English byrd (“fringe”), Middle English fasel (“fringe”) from Old English fæs (“fringe”), and Old English fnæs (“fringe”). Doublet of fimbria.
noun fringes
- A decorative border. the fringe of a picture
- A border or edging. He walked up the heath’s western edge, beside a fringe of scrub where hogweed grew in tangles and brambles rose taller than him.
- A marginal or peripheral part. the confines of grace and the fringes of repentance
- A group of people situated on the periphery of a larger community. About an hour later, the two were sitting at a comparatively isolated table in a restaurant called Sickler’s, downtown, a highly favored place among, chiefly, the intellectual fringe of students at the college—the same students, more or less, who, had they been Yale or Harvard men, might rather too
- Those members of a political party, or any social group, holding extremist or unorthodox views. a fringe group of the party
-
The periphery of an area, especially a town or city.
He lives on the fringe of London.
Similar: outskirts
-
Used attributively with reference to Aboriginal people living on the edge of towns etc.
All the fringe people thought it was such a good house, ingenious in fact, and erected similar makeshift housing for themselves.
Similar: outskirts
-
Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle where it is cut straight across.
Her fringe is so long it covers her eyes.
Similar: bangs
- A light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light. interference fringe
- Non-mainstream theatre. The Fringe
- The peristome or fringe-like appendage of the capsules of most mosses.
- The area around the green.
- A daypart that precedes or follows prime time.
adjective more fringe · fringer · most fringe · fringest
-
Outside the mainstream.
So was the cellist Charlotte Moorman, muse to Nam June Paik and proactivist champion of all things fringe.
Similar: nonmainstream, marginal, peripheral, alternative, fringy
verb fringes · fringing · fringed
- To decorate with fringe. [Y]onder cloud / That rises upward always higher, / And onward drags a labouring breast, / And topples round the dreary west, / A looming bastion fringed with fire.
- To serve as a fringe; to border. Purple bonnets fringed soft, pink, querulous faces on pillows in bath chairs.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: edge, outskirt, periphery, peripheral, marginal, outer boundary, bangs, band, bordure, cusp, rim, wai, thrum, room, strip, boundary
Translations
Every language
noun decorative border
| Español | orla |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 流苏 liúsū, 穗 suì |
| Português | borda, franja, orla |
| Français | frange |
| Deutsch | Franse, Saum, Einfassung |
| Italiano | frangia |
| Ελληνικά | κροσσός krossós |
| Русский | бахрома́ baxromá, кайма́ kajmá, оторо́чка otoróčka, окаймление okajmlenije |
| العربية | هُدْب hudb, هُدُب hudub |
noun the periphery of a city
| 中文 | 周边 zhōu biān, 边缘 biān yuán |
|---|---|
| Português | periferia |
| Français | périphérie |
| Deutsch | Randbezirk, Randgebiet, Peripherie |
| Italiano | periferia |
| Русский | перифери́я periferíja, окра́ина okráina |
noun peripheral part
| Português | periferia |
|---|---|
| Français | périphérie |
| Deutsch | Rand, Peripherie |
| Italiano | periferia |
| Русский | перифе́рия periférija, край kraj |
noun members of a social group holding unorthodox views
| Português | radical, extremista |
|---|---|
| Français | radicaux |
| Deutsch | Randgruppe, Rand- |
| Italiano | radicale |
noun hanging hair over the forehead
| Español | flequillo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 劉海 /刘海 liúhǎi |
| Português | franja |
| Deutsch | Pony, Stirnfranse |
noun light or dark band formed by the diffraction of light
| Français | frange (d'interférence) |
|---|---|
| Italiano | frangia |
| Русский | полоса́ polosá |
noun non-mainstream theatre
| Français | théâtre alternatif, théâtre d'avant-garde |
|---|---|
| Italiano | teatro m di nicchia |
adj outside the mainstream
| 中文 | 非主流的 fēizhǔliú de |
|---|---|
| Português | marginal |
| Français | marginal |
| Deutsch | Rand- |
| Italiano | marginale, di nicchia, secondario |
| Русский | маргинальный marginalʹnyj |
verb to decorate with fringe
| Español | orlar |
|---|---|
| Français | franger |
| Italiano | decorare con una frangia, decorare con frange |
| Русский | окантовать okantovatʹ, окантовывать okantovyvatʹ, отделать otdelatʹ, отделывать otdelyvatʹ |
verb to serve as a fringe
| Italiano | fungere da frangia |
|---|---|
| Русский | окаймлять okajmljatʹ, окантовывать okantovyvatʹ, обрамлять obramljatʹ |
Talk about this word "fringe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fringe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fringe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fringe "fringe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fringe.Cite this
@misc{fringe_2026,
title = {fringe},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fringe},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
