Definition of "selvage" [sel•vage]

• The edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel. (noun)
• An ornamental fringe at either end of an Oriental rug. (noun)
• The edge plate of a lock that has a slot for a bolt. (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.

• "She was certain she could swim in that sea if she could once get through what she called the selvage-wave."
• "And "selvage," escaping the first and last objections, may be thought to incur the middle one."
• "His solution was to make his own flight jackets, chambray work shirts, loop-wheeled cotton sweatshirts and selvage blue jeans."