verge [LME] Verge came via Old French from Latin virga ‘rod’, and its first meaning in medieval English was ‘penis’. This sense soon dropped out of use, and was replaced by ‘a rod or sceptre as a symbol of office’, and ‘a boundary or margin’, probably from the idea of a rod used as a boundary marker. The modern senses ‘an edge or border’ and ‘a limit beyond which something will happen’, as in ‘she was on the verge of tears’, are from the 17th century. The church verger first took his name from the role of carrying a rod or similar symbol of office in front of a bishop or other official. Since the early 18th century a verger has also been a church caretaker and attendant. Verge with the sense ‘incline towards’ is early 17th century, and had the early sense ‘descend (to the horizon)’ (Sir Walter Scott, Talisman: ‘The light was now verging low, yet served the knight still to discern that they two were no longer alone in the forest’). The source is Latin vergere ‘to bend, incline’.