Adjacent Words

Marginal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

M`ARGINAL, a. Pertaining to a margin.
1. Written or printed in the margin; as a marginal note or gloss.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: at or constituting a border or edge; "the marginal strip of beach" [syn: fringy, marginal]
2: of questionable or minimal quality; "borderline grades"; "marginal writing ability" [syn: borderline, marginal]
3: just barely adequate or within a lower limit; "a bare majority"; "a marginal victory" [syn: bare, marginal]
4: producing at a rate that barely covers production costs; "marginal industries"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Medieval Latin marginalis, from Latin margin-, margo Date: 1573 1. written or printed in the margin of a page or sheet <marginal notes> 2. a. of, relating to, or situated at a margin or border b. not of central importance <regards violence as a marginal rather than a central problem>; also limited in extent, significance, or stature <had only marginal success with the business> c. (1) occupying the borderland of a relatively stable territorial or cultural area <marginal tribes> (2) characterized by the incorporation of habits and values from two divergent cultures and by incomplete assimilation in either <the marginal cultural habits of new immigrant groups> (3) excluded from or existing outside the mainstream of society, a group, or a school of thought <marginal voters> 3. located at the fringe of consciousness <marginal sensations> 4. a. close to the lower limit of qualification, acceptability, or function ; barely exceeding the minimum requirements <a semiliterate person of marginal ability> b. (1) having a character or capacity fitted to yield a supply of goods which when marketed at existing price levels will barely cover the cost of production <marginal land> (2) of, relating to, or derived from goods produced and marketed with such result <marginal profits> 5. relating to or being a function of a random variable that is obtained from a function of several random variables by integrating or summing over all possible values of the other variables <a marginal probability function> • marginality noun • marginally adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 a of or written in a margin. b having marginal notes. 2 a of or at the edge; not central. b not significant or decisive (the work is of merely marginal interest). 3 Brit. (of a parliamentary seat or constituency) having a small majority at risk in an election. 4 close to the limit, esp. of profitability. 5 (of the sea) adjacent to the shore of a State. 6 (of land) difficult to cultivate; unprofitable. 7 barely adequate; unprovided for. Phrases and idioms: marginal cost the cost added by making one extra copy etc. Derivatives: marginality n. marginally adv. Etymology: med.L marginalis (as MARGIN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Marginal Mar"gin*al, a. [Cf. F. marginal.] 1. Of or pertaining to a margin. 2. Written or printed in the margin; as, a marginal note or gloss.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(marginals) 1. If you describe something as marginal, you mean that it is small or not very important. This is a marginal improvement on October... The role of the opposition party proved marginal. ADJ 2. If you describe people as marginal, you mean that they are not involved in the main events or developments in society because they are poor or have no power. The tribunals were established for the well-integrated members of society and not for marginal individuals... ? mainstream ADJ 3. In political elections, a marginal seat or constituency is one which is usually won or lost by only a few votes, and is therefore of great interest to politicians and journalists. (BRIT) ...the views of voters in five marginal seats. ADJ: usu ADJ n • A marginal is a marginal seat. (BRIT) The votes in the marginals are those that really count... N-COUNT 4. Marginal activities, costs, or taxes are not the main part of a business or an economic system, but often make the difference between its success or failure, and are therefore important to control. (BUSINESS) The analysts applaud the cuts in marginal businesses, but insist the company must make deeper sacrifices... ADJ: usu ADJ n

Moby Thesaurus

bordering, borderline, boundary, bounding, coastal, determinant, determinative, determining, disputable, doubtful, dubious, extreme, fringing, frontier, inferior, infinitesimal, insignificant, limbic, liminal, limit, limiting, littoral, low-priority, minimal, negligible, no great shakes, of no account, of no consequence, of no matter, of no significance, on the edge, questionable, rimming, secondary, skirting, slight, small, terminal, threshold, tiny, unimportant