n. [ OF, fringe, F. frange, prob. fr. L. fimbria fiber, thread, fringe, cf. fibra fiber, E. fiber, fimbriate. ]
The confines of grace and the fringes of repentance. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
Precipices fringed with grass. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]
Fringing reef.
a. Furnished with a fringe. [ 1913 Webster ]
Fringed lear (Bot.),
a. Having no fringe. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Encircling like a fringe; bordering. [ R. ] “The fringent air.” Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. An annual herb having pinnatifid basal leaves and slender racemes of small white flowers followed by one-seeded winged silicles.
. A small oleaceous tree (Chionanthus virginica), of the southern United States, having clusters of snow-white flowers with slender petals. It is often cultivated. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
‖a. [ NL., fr. L. fringilla a chaffinch. ] (Zool.) A genus of birds, with a short, conical, pointed bill. It formerly included all the sparrows and finches, but is now restricted to certain European finches, like the chaffinch and brambling. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. (Zool.) Fringilline. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. A natural family of birds of the finch group having short conical bills adapted for eating seeds, including finches, goldfinches, bullfinches, chaffinches, siskins, canaries, cardinals, grosbeaks, crossbills, linnets, and buntings. This family at one time included the sparrows of the family