Among the crowd in the abbey where a finger Could not be wedged in
more.
Shak.
He 's just the sort of man to wedge himself into a snug berth.
Mrs. J. H. Ewing.
3. To force by crowding and pushing as a wedge does; as, to wedge one's
way. Milton.
4. To press closely; to fix, or make fast, in the manner of a wedge
that is driven into something.
Wedged in the rocky shoals, and sticking fast.
Dryden.
5. To fasten with a wedge, or with wedges; as, to wedge a scythe on the
snath; to wedge a rail or a piece of timber in its place.
6. (Pottery) To cut, as clay, into wedgelike masses, and work by
dashing together, in order to expel air bubbles, etc. Tomlinson.
Wedge"bill` (?), n. (Zoöl.) An Australian crested insessorial bird
(Sphenostoma cristatum) having a wedge-shaped bill. Its color is dull
brown, like the earth of the plains where it lives.
Wedge"-formed` (?), a. Having the form of a wedge; cuneiform.
Wedge-formed characters. See Arrow-headed characters, under
Arrowheaded.
Wedge"-shaped` (?), a. 1. Having the shape of a wedge; cuneiform.
2. (Bot.) Broad and truncate at the summit, and tapering down to the
base; as, a wedge-shaped leaf.
Wedge"-shell` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small
marine bivalves belonging to Donax and allied genera in which the shell
is wedge- shaped.
Wedge"-tailed" (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a tail which has the middle pair
of feathers longest, the rest successively and decidedly shorter, and
all more or less attenuate; — said of certain birds. See Illust. of
Wood hoopoe, under Wood.
Wedge-tailed eagle, an Australian eagle (Aquila audax) which feeds on
various small species of kangaroos, and on lambs; — called also
mountain eagle, bold eagle, and eagle hawk. — Wedge-tailed gull, an
arctic gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in which the plumage is tinged with
rose; — called also Ross's gull.
Wedge"wise` (?), adv. In the manner of a wedge.
Wedg"wood` ware` (?). [From the name of the inventor, Josiah Wedgwood,
of England.] A kind of fine pottery, the most remarkable being what is
called jasper, either white, or colored throughout the body, and
capable of being molded into the most delicate forms, so that fine and
minute bas-reliefs like cameos were made of it, fit even for being set
as jewels.
Wedg"y (?), a. Like a wedge; wedge- shaped.
Wed"lock (?), n. [AS. wedlc a pledge, be trothal; wedd a pledge + lc a
gift, an offering. See Wed, n., and cf. Lake, v. i., Knowledge.]
1. The ceremony, or the state, of marriage; matrimony. "That blissful
yoke . . . that men clepeth [call] spousal, or wedlock." Chaucer.
For what is wedlock forced but a hell, An age of discord or continual
strife?
Shak.