fringeyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[fringe 词源字典]
fringe: [14] Late Latin fimbria meant ‘fibre, thread’ (it is used in modern English as an anatomical term for a threadlike structure, such as the filaments at the opening of the Fallopian tube). In the plural it was applied to a ‘fringe’, and eventually this meaning fed back into the singular. In Vulgar Latin fimbria, by the soundreversal process known as metathesis, became *frimbia, which passed into Old French as fringe or frenge – source of the English word.
[fringe etymology, fringe origin, 英语词源]
fringe (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 14c., "ornamental bordering; material for a fringe," from Old French frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem, border" (early 14c.), from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathesis of Late Latin fimbria, from Latin fimbriae (plural) "fibers, threads, fringe," which is of uncertain origin. Meaning "a border, edge" is from 1640s. Figurative sense of "outer edge, margin," is first recorded 1894. As an adjective by 1809. Related: Fringes. Fringe benefits is recorded from 1952.
fringe (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 15c., "decorate with a fringe or fringes," from fringe (n.). Related: Fringed; fringing.