selvage

American  

[sel-vij] / ˈsɛl vɪdʒ /

Or selvedge

noun

1. the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling, often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of the fabric.

2. any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

3. Also called margin.  Philately. the surplus paper or margin around a sheet of stamps.

   The number of the plate block appears in the selvage.

4. a plate or surface through which a bolt of a lock passes.

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selvage British  

/ ˈsɛlvɪdʒ /

noun

1. the finished nonfraying edge of a length of woven fabric

2. a similar strip of material allowed in fabricating a metal or plastic article, used esp for handling components during manufacture

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Other Word Forms

• selvaged adjective

Etymology

Origin of selvage

1425–75; late Middle English, respelling of self + edge, modeled on Middle Dutch selfegghe ( Dutch zelfegge )

Explanation

A selvage is a finished edge on a piece of fabric, as opposed to an edge that is cut and has loose threads that can be unraveled. The word selvage (or in the U.K., selvedge) originally referred only to the self-finished edge of fabric woven on a loom, though today it can be used for any material. Literally, the word means "its own edge," from the merging of self and edge. There are many similar words in other languages, including Selbend, "self end," in German. The purpose of the selvage is to keep the fabric from fraying.

Example Sentences

“The choices are many, although a straight leg and dark indigo selvage denim is a classic,” says Guy, who particularly likes the pricey but gorgeous Los Angeles label Hiroshi Kato.

From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2022

Then, as you got older, you got those stiff, selvage jeans from A.P.C.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2021

She writes from the selvage edge, prose that does not unravel: “My attention was always on the periphery, on what I could see and taste and touch.”

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2021

You can also find Japanese selvage denim, Filson shirts and jackets, work boots that look like they’ll last a generation, safety glasses for hazardous manly activities, restored and hand-sharpened vintage axes and motorcycle helmets.

From Washington Post • Aug. 14, 2019

But vast forests of dark pine sweep along its hill-sides or selvage its shores; and the sheltered hollows are enlivened by the lighter green of the oak, the ash, and the elm.

From The Cruise of the Betsey or, A Summer Ramble Among the Fossiliferous Deposits of the Hebrides. With Rambles of a Geologist or, Ten Thousand Miles Over the Fossiliferous Deposits of Scotland by Symonds, W. S. (William Samuel)

Related Words

• brink
• edge
• fringe
• threshold