Edenic 
1842 
Over 100 species are known, of which more than 40 inhabit 
North America; only one is found in the United States. 
Will he admit that the Edenic man was a different spe- 
cies, or even genus? Science, V. 407. - . 
ry T-.J , -IT \ / j jj \ j_ The genus was founded oy 
edenite (e'dn-it), n. [< Eden(mlle) (see def.) + F bri t. iu8 in isos. 
-ite 2 .'] An aluminous variety of amphibole or Edessan (e-des'an), a. 
hornblende, containing but little iron, of a pale- [< L. Edessa, Gr. "ErfT- 
green or grayish color, occurring at Edenville aa a c jty of Mesopota- 
in New York. 
Edenization (e'dn-i-za'shon), n. [< Edenize + 
-ation.] A making or converting into an Eden. 
[Rare.] 
The evangelization and Edenization of the world. 
The Congregationalist, Nov. 5, 1885. 
Edenize (e'dn-iz), v. t.; pret. and pp. Edenized, 
ppr. Edenizing. [< Eden + -ize.~\ 1. To make 
like Eden ; convert into a paradise. [Rare.] 
2. To admit into Paradise; confer the joys 
of Paradise upon. [Rare.] 
For pure saints cdeniz'd unfit. Doxies, Wit's Pilgrimage. 
edental (e-den'tal), a. and n. [< L. - J>riv. + 
mia, + -an.'] Of or per- 
taining to Edessa, a city 
in northwestern Meso- 
potamia, noted as the 
seat of an important 
theological school, and 
as the chief center from 
which Nestorianism 
spread over a great part 
of Asia Edessan family 
or branch of liturgies, that 
class of liturgies which is 
commonly called Nextorian, because used by Nestorians. 
Its oldest representative is the Liturgy of the Apostles 
(Adams and Maris). See liturgy. 
Edessa bijida. 
(Line shows natural size. } 
----- x- .. ,, - - . . 
den(t-)s, = E. tooth, + -al.] I. a. 1. Edentate; Edessene (e-des'en), a. [< LL. Edessenus, < 
toothless. 2. Of or pertaining to the Edentata. Edessa, Edessa: see Edessan.'] Same as Edes- 
II. . A member of the order Edentata. san- 
edentalous (e-den'ta-lus), a. [Appar. < eden- Edessinse (ed-e-si'ne), n. pi. 
tal + -ous; but prob. intended for edentulous, 
q. v.] Same as edentate. [Rare.] 
Edentata (e-den-ta'ta), n. pi. [NL., neut. pi. 
of L. edentatus, toothless : see edentate."] 1. In 
mammal., a Cuvierian order of mammals; the 
edentates. The term is literally incorrect, and in so 
[NL., < Edessa 
+ -ince.] A subfamily of heteropterous hemip- 
terous insects or bugs, of the family Pentatomi- 
da>, having the sternum produced into a cross, 
and the middle line of the venter carinate, the 
base of the keel being protracted into a horn. 
Also Edessides. 
far objectionable, few of these animals being edentulous O j., / p ;\ ,, r/ TifR eanv < AS ecu an edee 
or toothless; and the Linnean equivalent term, Brute, is OttgO (ej;, M. IS M.&.egge,\ AAMftHieu 
often employed instead. But the name is firmly estab- poet, a sword, = OS. eggia = Olries. eg, , ig, 
lished, and the members of the order do agree in certain Fries, ig = D. egqe = MLG. egge = OHtr. ekka, 
dental characters, which are these : that incisors are never edge, point, MHG. ecke, egge, G. eck,_ecke, edge, 
present, and that the teeth, when there are any, are homo- 
dont and (excepting in Tatusiiuos) monophyodont, grow- 
ing from persistent pulps, and being devoid of enamel. 
MJi iii , J.IJ.AJ. 
= Icel. 
Edentate Skull of Great Ant-eater (Myrmecophaga jubata). 
The Edentata are ineducahilian placental mammals, with 
a relatively small cerebrum of one lobe, but otherwise very 
diversiform in structure, appearance, and mode of life ; the 
old-world forms are likewise widely different from those of 
the new world ; most edentates are of the latter. The arma- 
dillos, sloths, and ant-eaters of America, and the fodient 
ant-eaters and scaly ant-eaters of Africa and Asia, repre- 
sent respectively five leading types of Edentata, affording 
a division of the order into the five suborders Loricata 
(armadillos), Tardigrada (sloths), Vermilinguia (American 
ant-eaters), Squamata (scaly ant-eaters or pangolins), and 
Fodientia (digging ant-eaters or aardvarks). The tardi- 
grades, including a number of gigantic fossil forms, as the 
mylodons and megatheriums, formerly called Oramgrada, 
are herbivorous, and the living forms are all arboricole. 
The others are carnivorous and chiefly insectivorous, and 
it is among these that the entirely toothless forms occur, 
as in the ant-eaters. The Cuvierian Edentata included 
the Monotremata, now long since eliminated. 
2. A group of crustaceans. Latreille, 1826. 
edentate (e-den'tat), a. and n. [= P. edenU 
Sp. edentado, < L. edentatus, toothless, pp. of 
edentare, render toothless, < e, out, + den(t-)s 
= E. tooth; cf. dentate: see Edentata.'] I. a. 
1. Edentulous; toothless. 2. Of or pertaining 
to the Edentata, and thus having at least no 
front teeth. 
II. n. 1. One of the Edentata; an ineduca- 
bilian placental mammal without incisors. 2. 
A toothless creature. 
I tried to call to him to move, but how could a poor 
edentate like myself articulate a word? 
Kingsley, Alton Locke, xxxvi. 
edentated (e-den'ta-ted), a. [< edentate + 
-ed 2 .] Deprived of teeth; edentate. [Rare.] 
Edentati (e-den-ta'tl), n. pi. [NL., pi. of L. 
edentatus, toothless : see Edentata.'] A group 
of edentate mammals. Vicq-d'Azyr, 1792. 
edentation (e-den-ta'shon), . [< L. as if 
*edentatio(n-), < edentare, pp. edentatus, render 
toothless : see edentate.] The state or quality 
of being edentate ; toothlessness. 
edentulate (e-den'tu-lat), a. [< NL. *edentu- 
latus,<. L. edentulus, toothless: see edentulous.'] 
In entom., without teeth ; edentate : said of the 
mandibles when they have no tooth-like pro- 
cesses on the inner side. Eirby. 
edentulous (e-den'tu-lus), a. [< L. edentulus, 
toothless, < e- priv. + den(t~)s = E. tooth: see 
dent 2 . Cf. edentate."] Without teeth ; toothless. 
The jaws of birds are always edentulous and sheathed 
with horn, of divers configurations, adapted to their dif- 
ferent modes of life and kinds of food. Owen, Anat., Int. 
edert, n. See edder 2 . 
Edessa (e-des'a),. [NL., < L. Edessa, Gr. "Eoeo-- 
aa, a city of Macedonia.] A genus of penta- 
tomid bugs, typical of a subfamily Edessince, 
corner, = Icel. egg = Sw. egg = Dan. egg = 
Goth. *agja (not found) = L. acies, a sharp 
edge or point, front of an army (' edge of bat- 
tle '), akin to acer, sharp (> ult. E. eager*), acus, 
a needle, etc., to Gr. o/ci'f, ant/, a point, to Skt. 
acrl, an edge, corner, angle, and to E. awn 1 , 
ail 2 , ear 2 , q. v.] 1. The sharp margin or thin 
bordering or terminal line of a cutting instru- 
ment : as, the edge of a razor, knife, sword, ax, 
or chisel. 
He ... smote the kynge Pignores thourgh the helme 
that nother coyf ne helme myght hym warant till that 
the suerdes egge touched hys brayn. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 589. 
Who [Tubal] first sweated at the forge 
And forc'd the blunt and yet unbloodied steel 
To a keen edge, and made it bright for war. 
Cowper, Task, v. 216. 
2. The extreme border or margin of anything; 
the verge; the brink: as, the edge of a table; 
the edge of a precipice. 
Than draw streight thy clothe, & ley the boujt [fold] 
on the vttur egne of the table. 
Babeee Book(E. E. T. S.), p. 129. 
You knew he walk'd o'er perils, on an edge, 
More likely to fall in than to get o'er. 
Shale., 2 Sen. TV., LI. 
Specifically (a) In math., a line, straight or curved, along 
which a surface is broken, so that every section of the sur- 
face through that line has a cusp or an abrupt change of 
direction at the point of intersection with it. (&) In zool., 
the extreme boundary of a surface, part, or mark, gener- 
ally distinguished as posterior, anterior, lateral, superior, 
etc. In entomology it is often distinguished from the mar- 
gin, which is properly an imaginary space surrounding the 
disk of any surface, and limited by the edge. The outer 
edge of the elytron of a beetle may be either the extreme 
boundary of the elytron, or the lateral boundary of the 
upper surface, separated from the true boundary by a de- 
flexed margin called the epipleura. 
3. The border or part adjacent to a line of di- 
vision; the part nearest some limit ; an initial 
or terminal limit; rim; skirt: as, the edge of 
the evening; the outer and inner edges of a 
field ; the horizon's edge. 
For the sayde temple stondeth vpon the est egge of 
Mounte Morrea, and the Mounte Olyuete is right est from 
it. Sir S. Onylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 43. 
The new general, unacquainted with his army, and on 
the edge of winter, would not hastily oppose them. 
Milton. 
It [Watling Street] ran closely along the edge of this 
great forest, by the bounds of our Leicestershire. 
J. R. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. 190. 
4. The side of a hill; a ridge. Halliwell. 
[North. Eng.] 
Just at the foot of one of the long straight hills, called 
Edges in that country [England, on the borders of Wales], 
we came upon my friend's house. 
J. H. Shorthouse, John Inglesant, Int. chap. 
5. Sharpness; acrimony; cutting or wounding 
quality. 
Slander, 
Whose edge is sharper than the sword. 
Shak., Cymbeline, iii. 4. 
Fie, fle ! your wit hath too much edge. 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, 1. 2. 
The remark had a biting edqe to it. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 20, 
edge-bolt 
6. Acuteness or sharpness, as of desire or of 
appetite ; keenness ; eagerness ; fitness for ac- 
tion or operation. 
Cloy the hungry edge of appetite 
By bare imagination of a feast. 
Shak., Rich. II., i. 3. 
I did but chide in jest ; the best loves use it 
Sometimes ; it sets an edge upon affection. 
Middleton, Women Beware Women, ii. 1. 
When I got health, thou took'st away my life, 
And more ; for my friends die ; 
My mirth and edge was lost ; a blunted knife 
Was of more use than I. O. Herbert. 
'Tis true, there is an edge in all firm belief, and with an 
easy metaphor we may say the sword of faith. 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, i. 10. 
Back and edget. See baciti. Basset edges. See bus- 
aet%. Convanescible edge. See conraneKcible. Cus- 
pidal edge, or edge of regression. See cuspidal. to 
set on edge, (a) To rest or balance on the border of ; 
cause to stand upright on an edge : as, to set a large flat 
stone on edge, (b) To make eager or intense ; sharpen ; 
stimulate : as, his curiosity or expectation was set on edge. 
To set the teeth on edge, to cause an uncomfortable 
feeling as of tingling or grating in the teeth, as may be 
done by the eating of very sour fruit, by the sound of fil- 
ing, etc. 
One will melt in your Mouth, and t'other set your Teeth 
cm Edge. Congrete, Way of the World, i. 5. 
=Syn. 2 and 3. Verge, skirt, brim. . See rim, 6. Intensity. 
edge (ej), v.; pret. and pp. edged, ppr. edging. 
[< ME. eggen, put an edge on, sharpen (only m 
p. a. egged, < AS. ecged, p. a., only in comp. twi- 
ecged, two-edged, seearp-eeged, sharp-edged), 
also set on edge, intr. be set on edge, as the 
teeth, also edge on, egg, incite (in this sense 
from Scand.) (= OFries. cggja, fight, = Icel. 
cggja = Sw. egga = Dan. egge, incite), < AS. ecg, 
edge: see edge, n. See also egg 2 .] I. trans. 
1. To sharpen; put an edge upon; impart a 
cutting quality to. [Chiefly poetical.] 
The wrongs 
Of this poor country edge your sword ! oh, may it 
Pierce deep into this tyrant's heart ! 
Fletcher, Double Marriage, i. 1. 
Those who labour 
The sweaty Forge, who edge the crooked Scythe, 
Bend stubborn Steel, and harden gleeuiiig Armour, 
Acknowledge Vulcan's Aid. 
Prior, First Hymn of Callimachus. 
That is best blood that hath most iron in 't 
To edge resolve with. Lowell, Comm. Ode. 
2. Hence, figuratively, to sharpen; pique. 
Let me a little edge your resolution : you see nothing is 
unready to this great work, but a great mind in you. 
Ford, 'Tis Pity, v. 4. 
By such reasonings the simple were blinded and the 
malicious edged. Sir J. Haytmrd. 
3. To furnish with an edge, fringe, or border: 
as, to edge a flower-bed with box. 
And thou shalt find him underneath a brim 
Of sailing pines that edge yon mountain in. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, iv. 3. 
Their long descending train, 
With rubies edged. Dryden. 
A voice of many tones sent up from streams, . . . 
And sands that edge the ocean. Bryant, Earth. 
4. To move by or as if by dragging or hitching 
along edgewise ; impel or push on edge, and 
hence slowly or with difficulty: as, to edge a 
barrel or a box across the sidewalk ; to edge 
one's self or one's way through a crowd. 
Edging by degrees their chairs forwards, they were in 
a little time got up close to one another. Locke. 
5. To incite; instigate; urge on; egg. See 
egg 2 . [Now rare.] 
This . . . will encourage and edge industrious and prof- 
itable improvements. Bacon, Usury (ed. 1887). 
Edg'd-on by some thank-picking parasite. 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, iv. 1. 
Ardour or passion will edge a man forward when argu- 
ments fail. Ogilne. 
Edglng-and-dlvldlng bench. See bench. To edge In, 
to put or get in by or as if by an edge ; manage to get in. 
When you are sent on an errand, be sure to edge in some 
business of your own. Swift, Directions to Servants, iii. 
Do, Sir Lucius, edge in a word or two every now and 
then about my honour. Sheridan, The Rivals, v. 3. 
H. intrans. To move sidewise ; move gradu- 
ally, cautiously, or so as not to attract notice : 
as, edge along this way. 
We sounded, and found 20 fathoms and a bottom of 
sand ; but, on edging oft from the shore, we soon got out 
of sounding. Cook, Second Voyage, iii. 7. 
When one has made a bad bet, it's best to edge off. 
Caiman, Jealous Wife, v. 3. 
To edge away, to move away slowly or cautiously ; 
nant., to decline gradually, as from the shore, or from the 
line of the course. To edge down upon an object, to 
approach an object in a slanting direction. To edge in 
With, to draw near to, as a ship in chasing. 
edge-bolt (ej'bolt), . In bookbinding, the closed 
folds of a section or signature as shown in an 
uncut book. 
