Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WEDGE, n. [Sax. wecg, wæcg; Dan. veg; Sw. vigg; D. wig. This word signifies a mass, a lump.]

1. A mass of metal; as, a wedge of gold or silver. – Josh. vii.
2. A piece of metal, particularly iron, thick at one end and sloping to a thin edge at the other, used in splitting wood, rocks, &c. This is one of the five mechanical powers. A like piece of wood is by some persons called a wedge, or a glut.
3. Something in the form of a wedge. Sometimes bodies of troops are drawn up in the form of a wedge.