ecumenical
438
and VOLCANOES, and east of them, a large area of tropical
forest. —Ecuadorian /ˌekwəˈdɔːriən/ n, adj
e·cu·men·i·cal /ˌiːkjuːˈmenɪkəl ǁ ˌek-/ adj supporting or
tending towards agreement in aims and beliefs between the
different branches of the Christian religion, with a hope of
uniting them in one Church —ly /-kli/ adv
ec·ze·ma /ˈeksɪməlˈeksɪmə, ˈegzɪmə, ɪgˈziːmə/ n [U] a red
swollen condition of the skin; usually in one or two areas of
the body at a time, with dryness and itching (ITCH), and often
with an unknown cause
ed. /ed/ abbrev. for 1 edited 2 (pl. eds.) edition 3 (pl. eds.)
editor 4 education
E·dam /ˈiːdæm/ trademark a hard yellow cheese from the
Netherlands, which is made in the shape of a ball and covered
with red WAX. Edam does not have a very strong taste.
Ed·de·ry, Pat /ˈedəri/ (1952–) an Irish JOCKEY who stopped
racing after 36 years in 2003. He has won more races than
anyone else except Sir Gordon Richards.
Ed·die Bau·er /ˌedi ˈbaʊər/ a store found in many towns
in the US, which sells sports clothes and home furnishings.
The first store opened in 1920 and there are now stores and
catalogues in Britain, Japan, and Germany.
ed·dy¹ /ˈedi/ n a circular movement of water, wind, dust,
smoke etc: The little paper boat was caught in an eddy and
spun round and round in the water.
eddy² v [I] (of water, wind, dust, smoke etc) to move round
and round or in a varying direction: The mist eddied round
the old house.
Eddy, Mary Baker (1821–1910) a US religious leader, who
started a new form of Christianity called CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
in 1866
E·den /ˈiːdn/ also the Garden of Eden in the Old
Testament of the Bible, a garden where the first humans
(Adam and Eve) lived. Eden was a beautiful place where they
lived happily with no knowledge of SIN (=offending against
God) and the word is used to mean a place of innocent
happiness. → see also FALL and FALL, THE
Eden, Sir Anthony (1897–1977) a British politician in the
Conservative Party, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to
1957. He gave up this position after the SUEZ CRISIS, when
British military forces failed in an attempt to get back control
of the Suez Canal from Egypt.
'Eden Project, the an environmental project near St
Austell, Cornwall, in southwest England. It consists of several
very large transparent DOMES which are used as GREEN-
HOUSES. A different type of environment exists inside each
dome so that particular plants can be grown there. An
important aim of the project is to study ways in which the
environment can be protected from damage by human activi-
ties. The public are allowed to go and see it, and it has a huge
number of visitors.
edge¹ /edʒ/ n 1 the part or place where something ends or
begins or that is farthest from its centre: Don't go too near the
edge of the cliff. | She stood by the water's edge. | (fig.) He felt he
was on the edge of madness. 2 the thin sharp cutting part of
a blade, tool etc: This knife has a very sharp edge. 3 have
the edge on/over to be (slightly) better than or have a
(slight) advantage over: She has the edge on the other students
because she spent a year in England. 4 on edge nervous;
EDGY: I'm sorry if I was rude to you – I'm a bit on edge at the
moment. 5 on the edge especially AmE infml on the edge of
madness; about to go mad: Poor Aunt Ethel – I think she's on
the edge. | What's wrong with me today? I must be on the
edge! 6 take the edge off to lessen the force of: That'll take
the edge off your hunger. 7 on the edge of your seat || also
on the edge of your chair AmE interested and eager to know
what will happen, especially while watching a film or play,
or reading a book: Star Trek fans were waiting on the edge of
their seats for the next film. —edge-of-seat adj: The Kings
won 3–2 in overtime, in an exciting game that featured edge-of-
seat skating and no fights. 8 -edged /edʒd/ having an edge
or edges of the stated type or number: a sharp-edged blade |
a two-edged sword → see also CUTTING EDGE, DOUBLE-EDGED
edge² v 1 [T(with)] to provide with an edge or border: She had
a white handkerchief edged with blue. 2 [+adv/prep; T+obj+adv/
prep] to (cause to) move gradually, especially with small
sideways movements: He edged (his way) towards the front of
the crowd. | She edged her chair closer to mine. | (fig.) He's been
running the company for years, but they're trying to edge him
out now. | (fig.) Prices have been stable for a while, but they are
beginning to edge up again now. 3 to cut the edges of (an
area of grass) with a tool that cuts into the ground, in order
to make a straight line and a neat appearance: Will you edge
the lawn after I've mown it?
edge·ways /ˈedʒweɪz/ also edge·wise /-waɪz/ adv side-
ways: The door's so narrow you could only get this painting
through edgeways. → see also get a word in edgeways
(WORD¹)
edg·ing /ˈedʒɪŋ/ n [C;U] something that forms an edge or
border: a white handkerchief with (a) blue edging
'edging tool n a garden tool used for making the edges of a
grass area neat by cutting into the ground
edg·y /ˈedʒi/ adj infml nervous and easily made angry: She's
been a bit edgy lately, waiting for the exam results. —ily adv
EDI /ˌiː di ˈaɪ/ n [U] tech abbrev. for electronic data interchange
ed·i·ble /ˈedɪbəl/ adj fit to be eaten; suitable to be used as
food: These berries are edible but those are poisonous. | edible
fungi → opposite INEDIBLE; compare EATABLE
e·dict /ˈiːdɪkt/ n 1 an official public order made by someone
in a position of power. An edict is almost always made by
one person acting without taking the advice of others: The
king issued an edict forbidding the wearing of swords
within the city. 2 especially humor any order or command
ed·i·fi·ca·tion /ˌedɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ n [U] fml or humor the improve-
ment of the mind or character; often used in connection
with something whose educational value is low in the
opinion of the speaker: Now here, for your edification, is
Professor Spinks to talk about Mexican pottery.
ed·i·fice /ˈedɪfɪs/ n fml or pomp a large fine building, such as a
palace or church
ed·i·fy /ˈedɪfaɪ/ v [T] fml or humor to improve (the mind or
character of): a most edifying lecture → see also UNEDIFYING
Ed·in·burgh /ˈedɪnbərə/ the capital of Scotland, in the east
of the country on the River Forth. Edinburgh is a centre for
business, industry, education, and the law, and the new
Scottish parliament is there. Edinburgh is a popular place for
tourists to visit, and is known for its beautiful buildings, and
for being an important CULTURAL centre, with many thea-
tres, concert halls, and MUSEUMS. Because of this, it is
sometimes called 'the Athens of the North'. → see also
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL, THE, PRINCES STREET, ROYAL MILE, THE
Edinburgh, Duke of → see DUKE OF EDINBURGH
Edinburgh 'Festival, the also Edinburgh Inter-
national Festival of Music and Drama an event
that takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, every year for three
weeks in the summer, when there are many performances of
plays and music, and other forms of entertainment. Some of
these performances are given by famous people or groups, but
there are also many others which are given by less well-
known people, including university students, and these
events are known as the Edinburgh Fringe. Many famous
writers, actors, and COMEDIANS started their professional
CAREERS at the Edinburgh Festival.
Ed·i·son, Thom·as Al·va /ˈedɪsən, ˈtɒməs ˈælvəlˈtaɪ-/
(1847–1931) a US inventor who made over 1300 electrical
inventions, including the MICROPHONE, the record player,
and equipment for the cinema. He is most famous for invent-
ing the LIGHT BULB (=a glass container with a thin wire
inside, which produces light by using electricity).
ed·it /ˈedɪt/ v [T] 1 to prepare for printing, broadcasting etc,
by deciding what shall be included or left out, putting right
mistakes etc: They've asked me to edit one of the volumes in
their new series of Shakespeare plays. | to edit a computer
program | If a film is well edited, it can add greatly to its
excitement. 2 to be the editor of (a newspaper or magazine):
He used to edit the Washington Post.
edit sthg. ↔ out phr v [T] to remove when preparing
something for printing, broadcasting etc: The rude words she
used were edited out before the programme was broadcast.
e·di·tion /ɪˈdɪʃən/ n (any one of) a number of copies of a
book, newspaper, magazine etc, that are produced and
printed at one time: The last edition of the newspaper comes
out at midnight. | This is the second edition of this dictionary.