Definition of "fringe" []

• A decorative border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips, often attached to a separate band. (noun)
• Something that resembles such a border or edging. (noun)
• A marginal, peripheral, or secondary part: "They like to hang out on the geographical fringes, the seedy outposts” ( James Atlas). (noun)
• Those members of a group or political party holding extreme views: the lunatic fringe. (noun)
• Any of the light or dark bands produced by the diffraction or interference of light. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Macramé is an Arabic word, signifying an ornamental fringe or trimming, which has been adopted as the term for a certain kind of hand-work, known also as «knotted fringe» or «Mexican lace» and produced by the knotting, interweaving and tying together of threads."
• "They like her because she brags about being a "real American" – which to the fringe is code for white."
• "The term fringe -- as in the annual arts festival the Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- is a term many actors bridle at."