English Explanatory Dictionary

hedge

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden.
  2. A barrier (often consisting of a line of persons or objects) to protect someone or something from harm.
  3. A mound of earth, stone- or turf-faced, often topped with bushes, used as a fence between any two portions of land.
  4. A noncommittal or intentionally ambiguous statement.
  5. Contract or arrangement reducing one's exposure to risk (for example the risk of price movements or interest rate movements).
  6. With indication of a person's upbringing, or professional activities, taking place by the side of the road; being third-rate, poor, shoddy.
verb
  1. To enclose with a hedge or hedges.
  2. To obstruct or surround.
  3. To offset the risk associated with.
  4. To avoid verbal commitment.
  5. To construct or repair a hedge.
  6. To reduce one's exposure to risk.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

hĕj /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/ En-us-hedge.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hedge.wav /ˈhed͡ʒ/

Word forms

hedge hedges hedging hedged

Etymology

From Middle English hegge, from Old English heċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *haggju, from Proto-Germanic *hagjō, from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Cognate with Dutch heg, German Hecke. Doublet of hey (a choreographic figure) and quay. More at haw.

Synonyms

parry shuffle

Derived words

behedge box hedge Cornish hedge enhedge fedge hain hedge alehouse hedgeapple hedge apple hedgebank hedgeberry hedgebill hedge bindweed hedgeborn hedgebote hedge-breaking hedge cactus hedge clippers hedge-clippers hedge creeper hedge-diving Hedge End hedge fund hedge garlic hedge-hog hedgehog hedge-hop hedgehop hedgehopper hedgehyssop hedgeless hedgelike hedgeline hedge-lined hedgemaker hedgemaking hedge marriage hedge maze hedge mustard hedgenettle hedge-note hedge parsley hedge parson hedgepig hedge popping hedge priest hedge rider hedge riding hedgerow hedge school hedge sermon hedge sparrow hedgetop hedge tree hedge trimmer hedge warbler hedgeward hedgewards hedge whore hedgewise
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