brink

brink
    n 1: a region marking a boundary [syn: {brink}, {threshold},
         {verge}]
    2: the edge of a steep place
    3: the limit beyond which something happens or changes; "on the
       verge of tears"; "on the brink of bankruptcy" [syn: {verge},
       {brink}]
    

Brink \Brink\ (br[i^][ng]k), n. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to
   Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a
   grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
   The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a
   precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a
   border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. "The brink of
   vice." --Bp. Porteus. "The brink of ruin." --Burke.
   [1913 Webster]

         The plashy brink of weedy lake.          --Bryant.
   [1913 Webster] brinkmanship
    

35 Moby Thesaurus words for "brink":
      bank, board, border, bordure, brim, brow, coast, edge, featheredge,
      flange, frame, fringe, hem, labellum, labium, labrum, ledge, limb,
      limbus, lip, list, marge, margin, perimeter, periphery, point,
      ragged edge, rim, selvage, shore, side, sideline, skirt, threshold,
      verge