From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wedge \Wedge\ (w[e^]j), n. [OE. wegge, AS. wecg; akin to D. wig,
wigge, OHG. wecki, G. weck a (wedge-shaped) loaf, Icel.
veggr, Dan. v[ae]gge, Sw. vigg, and probably to Lith. vagis a
peg. Cf. {Wigg}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A piece of metal, or other hard material, thick at one
end, and tapering to a thin edge at the other, used in
splitting wood, rocks, etc., in raising heavy bodies, and
the like. It is one of the six elementary machines called
the mechanical powers. See Illust. of {Mechanical powers},
under {Mechanical}.
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2. (Geom.) A solid of five sides, having a rectangular base,
two rectangular or trapezoidal sides meeting in an edge,
and two triangular ends.
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3. A mass of metal, especially when of a wedgelike form.
"Wedges of gold." --Shak.
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4. Anything in the form of a wedge, as a body of troops drawn
up in such a form.
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In warlike muster they appear,
In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings.
--Milton.
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5. The person whose name stands lowest on the list of the
classical tripos; -- so called after a person (Wedgewood)
who occupied this position on the first list of 1828.
[Cant, Cambridge Univ., Eng.] --C. A. Bristed.
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6. (Golf) A golf club having an iron head with the face
nearly horizontal, used for lofting the golf ball at a
high angle, as when hitting the ball out of a sand trap or
the rough.
[PJC]
{Fox wedge}. (Mach. & Carpentry) See under {Fox}.
{Spherical wedge} (Geom.), the portion of a sphere included
between two planes which intersect in a diameter.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wedge \Wedge\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wedged}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Wedging}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To cleave or separate with a wedge or wedges, or as with a
wedge; to rive. "My heart, as wedged with a sigh, would
rive in twain." --Shak.
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2. To force or drive as a wedge is driven.
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Among the crowd in the abbey where a finger
Could not be wedged in more. --Shak.
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He 's just the sort of man to wedge himself into a
snug berth. --Mrs. J. H.
Ewing.
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3. To force by crowding and pushing as a wedge does; as, to
wedge one's way. --Milton.
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4. To press closely; to fix, or make fast, in the manner of a
wedge that is driven into something.
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Wedged in the rocky shoals, and sticking fast.
--Dryden.
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5. To fasten with a wedge, or with wedges; as, to wedge a
scythe on the snath; to wedge a rail or a piece of timber
in its place.
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6. (Pottery) To cut, as clay, into wedgelike masses, and work
by dashing together, in order to expel air bubbles, etc.
--Tomlinson.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
wedge
n 1: any shape that is triangular in cross section [syn:
{wedge}, {wedge shape}, {cuneus}]
2: a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise
and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and
lettuce and condiments); different names are used in
different sections of the United States [syn: {bomber},
{grinder}, {hero}, {hero sandwich}, {hoagie}, {hoagy}, {Cuban
sandwich}, {Italian sandwich}, {poor boy}, {sub},
{submarine}, {submarine sandwich}, {torpedo}, {wedge}, {zep}]
3: a diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above
certain letters (such as the letter c) to indicate
pronunciation [syn: {hacek}, {wedge}]
4: a heel that is an extension of the sole of the shoe [syn:
{wedge heel}, {wedge}]
5: (golf) an iron with considerable loft and a broad sole
6: something solid that is usable as an inclined plane (shaped
like a V) that can be pushed between two things to separate
them
7: a block of wood used to prevent the sliding or rolling of a
heavy object [syn: {chock}, {wedge}]
v 1: put, fix, force, or implant; "lodge a bullet in the table";
"stick your thumb in the crack" [syn: {lodge}, {wedge},
{stick}, {deposit}] [ant: {dislodge}, {free}]
2: squeeze like a wedge into a tight space; "I squeezed myself
into the corner" [syn: {wedge}, {squeeze}, {force}]
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