View source for wedge

{{also|Wedge}}
==English==
{{was wotd|2015|September|12}}
{{wikipedia}}

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/wɛd͡ʒ/|a=UK,US}}
* {{audio|en|en-au-wedge.ogg|a=AU}}
* {{hyphenation|en|wedge}}
* {{rhymes|en|ɛd͡ʒ|s=1}}

===Etymology 1===
{{root|en|ine-pro|*weǵʰ-}}
From {{inh|en|enm|wegge||wedge}}, from {{inh|en|ang|weċġ|t=wedge}}, from {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*wagi}}, from {{inh|en|gem-pro|*wagjaz}}.

====Noun====
{{en-noun|~}}
{{wikipedia|wedge (mechanical device)}}
[[File:Wedge-1.jpg|thumb|A wedge]]
[[File:Geometric_wedge.png|150px|thumb|right|Wedge in geometry.]]

# One of the [[simple machine]]s; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and [[tapered]] to a thin edge at the other for [[insertion]] in a narrow [[crevice]], used for [[split]]ting, tightening, securing, or [[lever]]ing.
#: {{ux|en|Stick a '''wedge''' under the door, will you? It keeps blowing shut.}}
# A piece (of food, metal, wood etc.) having this shape.
#: {{ux|en|Can you cut me a '''wedge''' of cheese?}}
#: {{ux|en|We ordered a box of baked potato '''wedges''' with our pizza.}}
# {{lb|en|figurative}} Something that creates a [[division]], [[gap]] or [[distance]] between things.
#* {{quote-journal|en|date=September 28 2013|author=w:Kenan Malik|title=London Is Special, but Not That Special|titleurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/london-is-special-but-not-that-special.html?ref=opinion|journal=New York Times|accessdate=28 September 2013
|passage=It is one of the ironies of capital cities that each acts as a symbol of its nation, and yet few are even remotely representative of it. London has always set itself apart from the rest of Britain — but political, economic and social trends are conspiring to drive that '''wedge''' deeper.}}
# {{lb|en|geometry}} A five-sided [[polyhedron]] with a [[rectangular]] [[base]], two rectangular or [[trapezoidal]] [[side]]s meeting in an [[edge]], and two [[triangular]] ends. {{C|en|Shapes}}
# {{lb|en|architecture}} A [[voussoir]], one of the wedge-shaped [[block]]s forming an [[arch]] or [[vault]].
# {{lb|en|archaic}} A flank of cavalry acting to split some portion of an opposing army, charging in an inverted V formation.
# A group of [[goose|geese]], [[swan]]s, or other birds when they are in flight in a V formation.
# {{lb|en|golf}} A type of [[iron]] club used for short, high trajectories.
# One of a pair of [[wedge heel|wedge-heeled]] [[shoe|shoes]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=2010|author=Sue Limb|title=Girls, Guilty But Somehow Glorious|passage=She was wearing '''wedges''', and I have a horrible suspicion they were her mum's wedges left over from the last century.}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} An [[ingot]].
#* {{RQ:Marlowe Tamburlaine|part=1|scene=ii|page=25|passage=Open the Males, yet guard the treaſure ſure.<br>Lay out our golden '''wedges''' to the view,<br>That their reflexions may amaze the Perſeans.}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete|slang|uncountable|by extension}} [[silver|Silver]] or items made of silver collectively.
# {{lb|en|colloquial|British|countable|uncountable|by extension}} A quantity of money.
#: {{ux|en|He's got some decent '''wedge'''.|q=uncountable}}
#: {{ux|en|I made a big fat '''wedge''' from that job.|q=countable}}
# {{lb|en|US|regional}} A [[sandwich]] made on a long, cylindrical roll.
#: {{ux|en|I ordered a chicken parm '''wedge''' from the deli.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=Marlene Fanta Shyer|title=Adorable Sunday|publisher=Scholastic|year=1983|passage=She hoped it wasn't a meatball '''wedge''', because there's so much garlic in school meatballs that it might make my breath smell and knock the agent out of his chair.}}
#* {{quote-web|en|author=Mark Lungariello|title=It's called a wedge in Westchester: Not a hoagie, sub or a grinder|work=The Journal News|date=2019-10-10|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2019/10/10/westchester-county-wedge-sandwich/2404722001/|passage=Most people realize there are a lot of different names for that type of sandwich, so Scalone wondered what was so funny about '''wedge'''?}}
# One of the basic [[element]]s that make up [[cuneiform]] [[writing]], a [[single]] [[triangular]] [[impression]] made with the [[corner]] of a [[reed]] [[stylus]].
# Any [[symbol]] shaped like a V in some [[given]] [[orientation]].
## {{lb|en|typography|US}} A {{l|en|háček}}.
##* {{quote-text|en|year=1982|author=Thomas Pyles; John Algeo|title=The Origins and Development of the English Language|edition=3rd|pageurl=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ERl5AAAAIAAJ&q=%22wedge%22&dq=%22wedge%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=umg0T9PBG4Wi0QXG-fXWCQ&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBjgK|page=49
|passage=The '''wedge'''<!-- also emboldened in the source --> is used in Czech and is illustrated by the Czech name for the diacritic, ''haček''.}}
##* {{quote-text|en|year=1996|author=[[w:Geoffrey K. Pullum|Geoffrey Keith Pullum]]; William A. Ladusaw|title=Phonetic Symbol Guide|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PHb7ug_U_O0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=wedge&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gGgxT7KJM8i1-waEyo3vBQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=wedge&f=false|edition=2nd|page=xxvi
|passage=The tilde and the circumflex have a place in the ASCII scheme but the '''wedge''' and the umlaut do not.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|year=1999|author=Florian Coulmas|title=The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems|pageurl=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=y3KdxBqjg5cC&pg=PA193&dq=%22wedge%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=c380T-nlHai80QWpyaSfAg&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=%22wedge%22&f=false|page=193|chapter=háček
|passage=The háček or ‘'''wedge'''’ ⟨ˇ⟩ is a diacritic commonly used in Slavic orthographies. {{...}} As a tone mark the '''wedge''' is used iconically for a falling-rising tone as in Chinese Pinyin.}}
## {{lb|en|phonetics}} The {{l|en|IPA}} character {{IPAfont|[[ʌ]]}}, which denotes an [[w:Open-mid back unrounded vowel|open-mid back unrounded vowel]].
##* {{quote-text|en|year=1996|author=[[w:Geoffrey K. Pullum|Geoffrey Keith Pullum]]; William A. Ladusaw|title=Phonetic Symbol Guide|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PHb7ug_U_O0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=wedge&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gGgxT7KJM8i1-waEyo3vBQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=wedge&f=false|edition=2nd|page=19
|passage=Turned V is referred to as “'''Wedge'''” by some phoneticians, but this seems inadvisable to us, because the ''haček'' accent (ˇ) is also called that in names like Wedge C for (č).}}
## {{lb|en|mathematics}} The symbol {{m|mul|∧}}, denoting a [[meet]] ([[infimum]]) operation or logical [[conjunction]].
## {{lb|en|music}} A [[hairpin]], an [[elongated]] [[horizontal]] V-shaped sign indicating a [[crescendo]] or [[decrescendo]].
# {{lb|en|meteorology}} A [[barometric]] [[ridge]]; an [[elongated]] [[region]] of [[high]] [[atmospheric]] [[pressure]] between two [[low-pressure]] areas.
# {{lb|en|meteorology}} A [[wedge tornado]].
# {{lb|en|finance}} A market trend characterized by a contracting range in prices coupled with an upward trend in prices (a ''rising wedge'') or a downward trend in prices (a ''falling wedge'').

=====Synonyms=====
* {{sense|group of geese}} {{l|en|skein}}
* {{sense|phonetics: IPA character ''⟨{{IPAfont|ʌ}}⟩''}} {{l|en|turned v}}

=====Derived terms=====
{{col-auto|en|{{l|en|wedge gauge}}, {{l|en|wedge gage}}
|wedge gear|drive a wedge|substorm current wedge|tax wedge|Texas wedge|wedge pea|wedgelike
|wedge issue
|wedge politics|potato wedge
|accretionary wedge|cross-wedge|drive a wedge between|flying wedge|fox wedge|hand wedge|ice wedge|lob wedge|pitching wedge|potato wedge|salt wedge|sand wedge|shoe wedge|Sikkim wedge-billed babbler|small end of the wedge|spherical wedge|thin edge of the wedge|thin end of the wedge|wedge of circles|wedge prism|wedge product|wedge salad|wedge shell|wedge sum|wedge tomb|wedge-and-dash|wedge-shaped|wedge-tailed eagle|wedge-writing}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|simple machine}}
* Albanian: {{t+|sq|pykë|f}}
* Arabic: {{t|ar|إِسْفِين|m}}, {{t+|ar|وَتِد|m}}, {{t+|ar|وَتَد|m}}
*: Egyptian Arabic: {{t|arz|سفين|m|tr=safīn}}
* Armenian: {{t+|hy|սեպ}}
* Azerbaijani: {{t+|az|paz}}
* Bashkir: {{t|ba|шына}}
* Belarusian: {{t|be|клін|m}}
* Bengali: {{t+|bn|কীল}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|клин|m}}
* Burmese: {{t+|my|သပ်}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|falca|f}}, {{t+|ca|tascó|f}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|楔|tr=xiē}}, {{t+|cmn|楔子|tr=xiēzi}}
* Czech: {{t+|cs|klín|m}}
* Danish: {{t|da|kile|c}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|wig|m}}, {{t+|nl|spie|f}}
* Esperanto: {{t+|eo|kojno}}
* Estonian: {{t+|et|kiil}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiila}}
* French: {{t+|fr|coin|m}} {{qualifier|for splitting something}}, {{t+|fr|cale|f}} {{qualifier|for stopping something from moving}}
* Galician: {{t+|gl|cuña|f}}, {{t|gl|calzo|m}} {{qualifier|for levelling}}, {{t+|gl|grillo|m}}
* Georgian: {{t+|ka|სოლი}}
* German: {{t+|de|Keil|m}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|σφήνα|f}}
*: Ancient: {{t|grc|σφήν|m}}
* Greenlandic: {{t|kl|quppaqut}}
* Hebrew: {{t+|he|טְרִיז|m|tr=t'riz}}
* Hindi: {{t+|hi|कील|f}}, {{t|hi|वैज|m}}
* Hungarian: {{t+|hu|ék}}
* Ingrian: {{t|izh|klina}}
* Irish: {{t|ga|ding|f}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|cuneo|m}}, {{t+|it|bietta|f}}, {{t+|it|zeppa|f}}, {{t|it|fermaporta|m}} {{qualifier|doorstop}}
* Japanese: {{t+|ja|楔|tr=くさび, kusabi|sc=Jpan}}
* Kazakh: {{t|kk|сына}}, {{t|kk|танап}}
* Khmer: {{t+|km|បន្លួញ}}
* Korean: {{t+|ko|쐐기}}
* Kyrgyz: {{t+|ky|шынаа}}
* Lao: {{t|lo|ຫລິ້ນ}}, {{t|lo|ສາກ}}
* Latin: {{t|la|cuneus|m}}
* Latvian: {{t|lv|ķīlis|m}}
* Lithuanian: {{t|lt|vagis|m}}
* Lombard: {{t|lmo|qignœl}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|клин|m}}
* Malay: {{t|ms|baji}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|kahi}}, {{t|mi|matakahi}}, {{t|mi|mākahi}}, {{t|mi|tahatiti}} {{qualifier|specifically for tightening not splitting}}
* Middle English: {{t|enm|wegge}}
* Mongolian: {{t+|mn|шаантаг}}
* Navajo: {{t|nv|bee ałkʼíniilkaałí}} {{qualifier|for splitting logs}}
* Occitan: {{t+|oc|conh|m}}, {{t+|oc|cunh|m}}
* Old Church Slavonic:
*: Cyrillic: {{t|cu|клинъ|m}}
* Old East Slavic: {{t|orv|клинъ|m}}
* Old English: {{t|ang|wecg}}
* Old High German: {{t|goh|weggi|m}}
* Old Norse: {{t|non|veggr}}
* Ottoman Turkish: {{t|ota|قامه|tr=kama}}, {{t|ota|طاقوز|tr=takoz}}
* Persian: {{t+|fa|گوه|tr=gove}}
* Plautdietsch: {{t|pdt|Kjiel|f}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|klin|m}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|cunha|f}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|pană|f}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|клин|m}}
* Serbo-Croatian: {{t+|sh|klȉn|m}}, {{t|sh|клин|m}}
* Sicilian: {{t+|scn|cugnu|m}}
* Slovak: {{t|sk|klin|m}}
* Slovene: {{t|sl|klin|m}}
* Sorbian:
*: Lower Sorbian: {{t|dsb|klin|m}}
*: Upper Sorbian: {{t|hsb|klin|m}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|cuña|f}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|kil|c}}
* Tajik: {{t|tg|фона}}, {{t|tg|биғоз}}
* Thai: {{t+|th|ลิ่ม}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|kama}}, {{t+|tr|takoz}}
* Turkmen: {{t|tk|pahna}}, {{t|tk|şinde}}
* Ukrainian: {{t|uk|клин|m}}
* Urdu: {{t|ur|کیل|f|tr=kīl}}
* Uyghur: {{t|ug|پانا}}
* Uzbek: {{t+|uz|pona}}
* Venetan: {{t+|vec|cogn|m}}
* Vietnamese: {{t+|vi|nêm}}, {{t+|vi|chêm}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|lletem|f}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|piece of food etc.}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|клин|m}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|tascó|m}}, {{t+|ca|tros|m}}, {{t+|ca|part|f}}, {{t+|ca|quart|m}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kolmio}} {{qualifier|food}}; {{t+|fi|kiila}}
* French: {{t+|fr|part|m}}, {{t+|fr|morceau|m}}, {{t+|fr|quartier|m}}
* German: {{t+|de|Stück|n}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|spicchio}}
* Japanese: {{t|ja|一切れ|tr=hitokire}}
* Ladin: {{t|lld|tòch|m}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|kawałek|m}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|fatia|f}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|felie|f}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|кусок|m}}
* Serbo-Croatian: {{t+|sh|krȉška|f}}
* Sicilian: {{t|scn|feḍḍa|f}}, {{t+|scn|pezzu|m}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|[[rebanada]] [[triangular]]}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|bit|c}}
* Venetan: {{t+|vec|tòch|m}}, {{t+|vec|tòco|m}}, {{t+|vec|toco|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|geometry: type of five-sided polyhedron}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t|cmn|楔體|tr=xiētǐ}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiila}}
* German: {{t+|de|Keil|m}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|cuña}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|figurative: something that creates a division}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|разцепление|n}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiila}}
* Hungarian: {{t+|hu|ék}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|cuneo|m}}
* Sicilian: {{t+|scn|cugnu|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|flank of cavalry}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiila}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|σμήνος|n}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|[[formación]] en V}}, {{t|es|[[formación]] en [[cuña]]}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|kil|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|type of golf club}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|wedge|m}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|wedge}}
* French: {{t+|fr|cale|f}}
* German: {{t+|de|Wedge|f}}
* Icelandic: {{t|is|wedgi|m}}, {{t|is|sandjárn|n}}, {{t|is|kastjárn|n}}
* Italian: {{t|it|ferro da alzo}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|wedge|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|group of birds flying in V formation}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|vendel|n}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|aura}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|σμήνος|n}}
* Italian: {{t|it|formazione a cuneo}} di oche, {{t+|it|cigni}}, {{t+|it|anatre}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|klucz|m}}
* Quechua: {{t|qu|ananinami}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|cârd|n}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|клин|m}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|[[bandada]] [[formada]] en V}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|plog|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|one of a pair of wedge-heeled shoes}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|kiilakorkokenkä}}
* Portuguese: {{t|pt|sapato anabela}}
* Sicilian: {{t|scn|zòcculi|m-p}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|zapato de cuña}}
* Swedish: {{t|sv|kilklackssko|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|colloquial: quantity of money}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|massi}}, {{t+|fi|paalu}}
* Sicilian: {{t+|scn|pila|f}}, {{t|scn|munzeḍḍu|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-see|typography: háček|háček}}

{{trans-top|phonetics: IPA character ʌ}}
* Sicilian: {{t+|scn|cugnu|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|mathematics: the symbol ∧}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|konjunktio}}, {{t+|fi|ja}}
* Romanian: {{t|ro|conjuncție logică|f}}
* Sicilian: {{t|scn|cuniunziuni lòggica|f}}, {{t+|scn|cugnu|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-see|meteorology: wedge tornado|wedge tornado}}

{{trans-see|sandwich|sub}}

{{checktrans-top}}
* Ido: {{t+check|io|taketo}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive}} To support or secure using a wedge.
#: {{ux|en|I '''wedged''' open the window with a screwdriver.}}
#* {{RQ:Woolf Jacob's Room|1||"Did he take his bottle well?" Mrs. Flanders whispered, and Rebecca nodded and went to the cot and turned down the quilt, and Mrs. Flanders bent over and looked anxiously at the baby, asleep, but frowning. The window shook, and Rebecca stole like a cat and '''wedged''' it.}}
# {{lb|en|ambitransitive}} To force into a narrow gap.
#: {{ux|en|He had '''wedged''' the package between the wall and the back of the sofa.}}
#: {{ux|en|I '''wedged''' into the alcove and listened carefully.}}
#* {{quote-journal
|en
|journal=Jewish Currents
|title=Flirting With Fascism
|author=David Austin Walsh
|url=https://jewishcurrents.org/flirting-with-fascism/
|date=2019-7-24
|passage=During [Tucker] Carlson’s keynote, he '''wedged''' sneers at his critics for crying “racist!” in between racist remarks about [Ilhan] Omar, jeremiads against the media (“I know there’s a bunch of reporters here, so . . . screw you”), and an attack on Elizabeth Warren and her donors (“She’s a tragedy, because she’s now obsessed with racism, which is why the finance world supports her”)—all to gleeful applause.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[pack]] ([[people]] or [[animal]]s) [[together]] [[tightly]] into a [[mass]].
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To work wet [[clay]] by cutting or [[knead|kneading]] for the purpose of homogenizing the mass and expelling air bubbles.
# {{lb|en|computing|informal|intransitive}} Of a computer program or system: to get stuck in an [[unresponsive]] state.
#: {{ux|en|My Linux kernel '''wedged''' after I installed the latest update.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[cleave]] with a wedge.
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[force]] or [[drive]] with a wedge.
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To shape into a wedge.

=====Derived terms=====
* {{l|en||wedge up}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|to support or secure using a wedge}}
* Bulgarian: {{t|bg|заклинвам}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|falcar}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiilata}}
* French: {{t+|fr|caler}}
* Galician: {{t+|gl|tillar}}, {{t+|gl|acuñar}}, {{t|gl|calzar}}
* Ingrian: {{t|izh|klinata}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|incuneare}}, {{t|it|imbiettare}}, {{t+|it|rincalzare}}
* Ottoman Turkish: {{t|ota|قامه‌لامق|tr=kamalamak}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|расклинивать}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|acuñar}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|kila}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to force into a narrow gap}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kiilata}}
* French: {{t+|fr|caler}}, {{t+|fr|coincer}}
* German: {{t+|de|einkeilen}}, {{t+|de|klemmen}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|incuneare}}, {{t+|it|conficcare}}, {{t+|it|incastrare}}, {{t+|it|infilare}}
* Ottoman Turkish: {{t|ota|قامه‌لامق|tr=kamalamak}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|socar}}, {{t+|pt|atochar}}, {{t+|pt|enfiar}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|вклинивать}}, {{t+|ru|втискивать}}
* Swedish: {{t|sv|kila in}}, {{t|sv|kila fast}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|sıkıştırmak}}, {{t+|tr|tıkmak}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===Etymology 2===
From [[Wedgewood]], surname of the person who occupied this position on the first list of 1828.

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|UK|Cambridge University slang}} The person whose name stands lowest on the list of the [[classical]] [[tripos]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1873|author=Charles Astor Bristed|title=Five Years in an English University|passage=The last man is called the '''Wedge''', corresponding to the Spoon in Mathematics.}}

=====Synonyms=====
* {{l|en|wooden wedge}}

=====See also=====
* {{l|en|wooden spoon}}

{{cln|en|eponyms}}
{{C|en|Simple machines|Polyhedra}}

==French==

===Etymology===
{{bor|fr|en|wedge}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{audio|fr|LL-Q150 (fra)-WikiLucas00-wedge.wav}}

===Noun===
{{fr-noun|m}}

# {{label|fr|golf}} [[wedge#English|wedge]]