hedge

Meaning

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 non-committal 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. Used attributively, with figurative indication of a person's upbringing, or professional activities, taking place by the side of the road; third-rate.

fence

prevaricate

rail in

rail off

cut hair

turn aside

hold back affectedly

hedging transaction

endiguer

quick fence

pliant hedge

pilerow

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hɛd͡ʒ/

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.