marginaladj.n.

Brit.

/ˈmɑːdʒɪnl/,

/ˈmɑːdʒn̩l/, U.S.

/ˈmɑrdʒənəl/

Forms: 1500s–1600s marginall, 1600s– marginal, 1900s marginale (rare).

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin marginalis.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin marginalis littoral (earliest c1170 in a British source), written in the margin (from late 13th cent. in British sources, although early 13th cent. as noun) < classical Latin margin- , margō margin n. + -ālis -al suffix¹. Compare Middle French, French marginal written in the margin (15th-cent. in an isolated example, otherwise from a1598; 1804 in use in natural history (compare sense A. 2b), 20th cent. in further senses).

A. adj.

1. Written or printed in the margin of a page; esp. in marginal note, marginal reference. In quot. 1611: at the margin of the page (rather than indented).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [adjective] > written or printed in page margin

margent1555

marginal1573

marginean1656

society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [adjective] > printed in margin

margent1555

marginal1573

1573 R. Lever Arte of Reason iv. xxii. 198 I thinke it needlesse, here to repeate, how many kindes of gaynsettes there bee:..bycause it may suffice the diligent reader, to be referred by oure marginall note.

1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. 34 (margin) Thes words are..made plaine, in the first Epistle, Li. 6. in a marginall note.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Marc Looke the next marginall word.

1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 41 To club quotations with men whose learning and beleif lies in marginal stuffings.

a1656 J. Hales Golden Remains (1673) i. 278 That so you may bring them [sc. scattered notes] together by marginal references.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 227 Marginal Notes come down the side (or sides, If the Page have two Columns).

a1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 78 Here there is a line reading, and a marginal.

1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans II. 48 Mr. Canne, author of the Marginal References to the Bible.

1781 J. Bentham Corr. (1971) III. 26 The marginal-contenting..is a sort of hobby-horse exercise of mine.

1860 C. Dickens Let. 2 May (1997) IX. 245 I thought the marginal references over-done.

1885 Act 48 Vict. c. 15 Sched. ii. Precept §35 You are..to publish..the register with your marginal additions.

1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night iii. 45 I'm afraid it's rather full of marginal balloons and interlineations.

1962 N. Davis & C. L. Wrenn Eng. & Medieval Stud. 187 These facts..lend force to Tatlock's marginal and unsupported comment.

1988 National Trust Mag. Spring 13/1 Burghley's confident marginal comments are footnotes to history.

a. Relating to an edge, border, boundary, or limit; situated at or affecting the extreme edge of an area, mass, etc. Of a plant: growing at or near the boundary of a habitat, esp. at the edge of woodland or (spec.) a body of water (cf. sense B. 4).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [adjective]

marginal1658

margent1811

fringe1902

1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Marginal, belonging to the margin or margent, i. the brink or brim of any thing.

1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics vi. 54 The central parts of the lens..refract the rays too little, and the marginal parts too much.

1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton vii. 100 A marginal growth of willow and flag.

1882 Garden 25 Mar. 202/2 Lobelias..are most useful, as marginal plants for flower beds and borders.

1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 229 The lenses are of special optical glass, constructed with the nicest precision of curvature, so maintaining good marginal definition.

1893 S. Lane-Poole Aurengzib xii. 190 The extreme point south of Trichinopoly, and the marginal possessions of the Portuguese.

1925 J. Laird Our Minds & their Bodies ii. 31 For scientific purposes the marginal or borderline cases are usually the most instructive.

1934 H. C. Warren Dict. Psychol. 159/1 Marginal contrast, an accentuated type of simultaneous contrast, which occurs in regions close to the boundary between two contrasting areas.

1957 R. G. Collomb Dict. Mountaineering 52 The changing angle of slope over which it [sc. a glacier] flows causes marginal crevasses and transverse crevasses in mid-stream.

1962 M. L. Haselgrove Photographers' Dict. 141 (caption) A beam parallel to the principal axis will not be brought to a focus at the principal focus; marginal rays will converge to M while axial rays converge to A.

1990 Amateur Gardening 7 Apr. 18/4 At the edge of the water there grow the marginal plants, these like to have their feet in water but reach up to enjoy the sun and air.

b. Botany, Zoology, and Pathology. Situated at or arising from the edge of a body or part.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > specific areas or structures > [adjective] > margin or periphery

peripherial1653

peripherical1690

marginated1727

submarginated1752

submargined1783

margineda1794

marginal1796

submarginal1800

peripheral1808

peripheric1818

marginate1822

limbate1826

bipectinated1836

submarginate1856

marginiform1857

bipectinate1870

limbic1882

1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 97 I never observed the seeds exposed in the marginal sinusses.

1800 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 90 436 When the marginal lips are brought together, the animal will have a considerable power of suction.

1859 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom I. 20 To send forth pseudopodia through the marginal pores.

1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 298 Adventitious shoots, arising in the thalloid forms from cells of the older marginal parts.

1914 F. E. Fritsch & E. J. Salisbury Introd. Study Plants xix. 246 The ovules are borne in rows (frequently two) along the lines of junction, so that we can speak of marginal or parietal placentation.

1962 G. C. Blake & J. R. Trott Periodontol. v. 49 Marginal gingivitis involves only the free gingiva.

1993 E. N. K. Clarkson Invertebr. Palaeontol. & Evol. (ed. 3) xi. 354/1 The suture has become marginal and the eyes are very reduced or absent.

c. Psychology. Of, on, or relating to the edge or fringe of the field of consciousness.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > states of consciousness > subliminal self > [adjective]

subconscious1834

subliminal1883

subliminal1886

marginal1894

1894 C. L. Morgan Introd. Compar. Psychol. i. 17 We..pay attention solely to focal consciousness, omitting all reference to the great body of marginal subconsciousness.

1899 W. James Talks to Teachers ii. 18 The expressions ‘focal object’ and ‘marginal object’, which we owe to Mr. Lloyd Morgan, require, I think, no further explanation.

1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality I. Introd. 14 They speak of ‘fringes’ of ordinary consciousness; of ‘marginal’ associations.

1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 108 The field of consciousness with its focal and marginal presentations.

1954 J. R. Cavanagh & J. B. McGoldrick Fund. Psychiatry vii. 84 The outraged feelings, the effects, are in focal attention, and the repressed conflict, the cause, is in marginal awareness (unconscious).

1967 Philos. Rev. 76 193 (note) The ‘minuteness of perceptions’ that we presystematically associate with perceiving objects that are a long way off is considered to be a species of confusion and thus of marginal consciousness.

3. Stock Market. Of, relating to, or concerned with margins (margin n. 5a); designating or involving securities trading on margin.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [adjective] > specific operations or arrangements

short1849

marginal1870

odd lot1870

share pushing1896

new-time1897

stop-loss1901

over the counter1921

physical1946

OTC1965

index-linked1970

bed and breakfast1974

mark-to-market1981

1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Myst. Wall St. 59 Nor is there any dissimilarity between the conditions of purchase in complete and in marginal transactions.

1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Myst. Wall St. 62 The broker..demands of his customer either solid deposit of money or stocks, or marginal deposit of money.

1930 Economist 22 Mar. 653/1 Dominion and colonial stocks..attracted only the ‘marginal’ business of the market.

1936 Economist 15 Feb. 368/2 The Great Western, whose ‘marginal’ security is an ordinary stock.

1938 J. B. Williams Theory Investment Value iii. 21 To the marginal investor, it will be indifferent whether he invests in stock or in promissory notes.

1954 B. Graham Intelligent Investor ii. 34 Marginal trading—a potent cause of financial ruin to many—has been held within strict limits and at times suspended entirely.

1983 Rev. Econ. Stud. 50 251 The optimal cash positions may be chosen by setting the input price equal to the value of the marginal product evaluated at the (discounted) current price of futures.

a. That is on or close to a limit below or beyond which something ceases to be possible or desirable; borderline. In Economics: showing, representing, or achieving a small margin of profit; close to the limit of profitability or sustainability.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [adjective] > that is close to a limit

marginal1887

society > occupation and work > work > product of work > [adjective] > with small profit margin

marginal1887

1887 Daily News 23 May 2/8 Competition is as keen as ever and prices as marginal as they can be.

1906 W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) ix. 225 In an exhausted country, with no marginal resources, the outlook on the future would be much darker.

1909 J. A. Hobson Industr. Syst. v. 109 So with the case of the ‘marginal shepherd’, the tenth man whom a farmer calculates it is just worth his while to employ because he can get him for the price of twenty sheep a year, and he will just save that number by his work.

1909 J. A. Hobson Industr. Syst. v. 109 Marginal productivity of labour..the productivity of any single man, ‘marginal’ or other.

1929 New Statesman 1 June 232/1 For the ‘marginal’ voter—he who is at the point of indifference whether he comes to the poll or not—is unlikely..to be induced to do so by any really important consideration.

1953 J. L. Hanson Textbk. Econ. iv. xiii. 228 If profits in the industry fall, the marginal firms will be the first to leave.

1957 Times 21 Dec. 5/2 The weather at Idlewild international airport was reported to be ‘marginal’, and the captain had to ensure that sufficient fuel remained to divert to an alternative base.

1958 Listener 25 Sept. 447/1 The ordinary American citizen enjoys amenities which not even the rich enjoyed a century ago, and marginal output consists of goods that by any standards are patently inessential.

1958 Listener 25 Sept. 448/1 Marginal production in affluent America today..is in general much less urgent..than was marginal production 100 years ago.

1963 Times 16 Apr. 13/1 At any point of time there are some who would buy less coal if the price went up, either economizing in fuel or switching to some alternative. We economists call these the ‘marginal’ users.

1973 Black Panther 8 Sept. 12/3 In Southern Appalachia, Black Appalachians are ‘marginal’ (just above the poverty level).

1991 Economist 5 Jan. 27/1 Without unions fighting to keep up wages, employers are free to cut back costs by squeezing pay rather than by sacking marginal workers.

b. Economics. Of or relating to the extra cost, revenue, or utility involved in or deriving from the production or consumption of one additional unit of a product. See also marginal cost n. at Compounds.Economic theory generally predicts that, within certain limits, marginal cost of production decreases as total output increases. Under conditions of imperfect competition, however, marginal revenue may also decrease as total output increases. Cf. marginalism n.

ΚΠ

1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. i. p. x The term ‘marginal’ increment I borrowed from von Thünen, and it is now commonly used by German economists.

1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. (1898) iii. iii. 168 That part of the thing which he is only just induced to purchase may be called his marginal purchase, because he is on the margin of doubt whether it is worth his while to incur the outlay required to obtain it.

1914 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 28 752 Both selling price and marginal expense of production are variable functions of the same third variable, supply.

1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment iv. ii. 135 The relation between the prospective yield of a capital-asset and its supply price or replacement cost, i.e. the relation between the prospective yield of one more unit of that type of capital and the cost of producing that unit, furnishes us with the marginal efficiency of capital of that type.

1960 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 68 482/1 Absence of factor-supply independence means that the marginal expenditure of the whole establishment on the item is greater than the apparent marginal expense to each buyer acting individually.

1976 D. W. Moffat Econ. Dict. 175/2 Actually, marginal refers to small changes—one unit if discrete items are being analyzed, or an infinitesimal change if the function is continuous.

c. Economics. Of land, ore, etc.: yielding or likely to yield little or no profit. Of a farmer, etc.: working such land. Cf. quot. 1863 at margin n. 3a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [adjective] > marginal

marginal1910

the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [adjective] > marginal

marginal1935

1910 P. H. Wicksteed Common Sense of Polit. Econ. ii. vi. 571 ‘Marginal land’..is not land..considered with reference to the volume of supply.

1935 Economist 30 Nov. 1095/2 Huge quantities of marginal ore which, unattractive at the old price of gold, are attractive at the new.

1943 J. S. Huxley TVA i. 7 Reafforestation and the proper use of marginal lands.

1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 283 Policy..of aiding the thousands of inefficient marginal farmers to raise their standards of farming.

1954 M. Beresford Lost Villages Eng. x. 346 Derbyshire... There seems to have been surprisingly little retreat of settlement from marginal lands in the Peak.

1975 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 May 471/3 The bringing back into production of marginal agricultural land..formed part of his [sc. Keynes's] vision.

1990 Accountancy Mar. 68/1 Surplus farm buildings and unproductive land (unmanaged woodland, marginal ground) are other neglected farm assets.

a. Sociology. Of an individual or social group: isolated from or not conforming to the dominant society or culture; (perceived as being) on the edge of a society or social unit; belonging to a minority group (frequently with implications of consequent disadvantage). Also: partly belonging to two differing social groups or cultures but not fully integrated into either. See also marginal man n.In first quot. with admixture of sense A. 2a.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > separation or isolation > [adjective] > not fully integrated

marginal1925

1925 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 31 36 The marginal tribes on the periphery of an area are no longer truly representative of it.

1949 Persona 1 6 (title) The marginal position of the physically handicapped in a competitive society.

1964 R. D. Hopper in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 324 The Creole marginal group constituted about 10 per cent of the population at the time of the revolution.

1970 N. A. Victoria in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. xv. 574 When Batista was overthrown, the politically marginal classes comprised almost the whole Cuban people.

1987 D. Clandfield Canad. Film iv. 77 Each featured a marginal child (one an autistic boy, the other a street brat) in the title role and set their parallel fantasy-world on a course towards self-destruction.

1993 Chicago Tribune 16 Apr. ii. 2/2 Richard Duntz held sway over the other marginal types who hung out on the steps of Town Hall—before his brother torched it.

b. Of an aspect of culture, the arts, etc.: unorthodox; removed from the mainstream; having a limited following.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > [adjective] > deviating from rule or standard

exorbitant1534

unorthodox1629

aberrant1778

aberrated1786

divergent1801

radical1869

nonstandard1870

non-regular1896

non-regulation1953

non-conformant1960

alternative1962

sideways1969

alternate1970

marginala1988

alt1988

a1988 R. Williams Polit. of Modernism (1989) ii. 46 So nearly complete was this vast cultural reformation that, at the levels directly concerned—the succeeding metropolitan formations of learning and practice—what had once been defiantly marginal..became, in its turn, orthodox.

1991 Twenty Twenty Spring 67/2 An admirable small label dedicated to all things marginal is reVision.

1993 Guardian 19 Oct. ii. 5/3 An increasingly ‘hit-driven’ market is crowding out small, marginal and maverick films.

1999 Afr. News Service (Electronic ed.) 22 Jan. I managed to catch the tail-end of one of the strongest marginal theatre forces in our country.

6. Politics. Of a constituency, etc.: in which an election is expected to be closely contested, the sitting or outgoing member typically having only a small majority.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [adjective] > type of constituency

snug1844

three-cornered1882

multi-member1911

marginal1948

supermarginal1955

1948 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 42 1022 The leading candidate for President generally pulls through ‘on his coat-tails’ to marginal House seats his fellow-partisans.

1951 Times 25 Oct. 6/3 (heading) Marginal seats... A significant feature of today's General Election polling is the substantial number of constituencies which may be described as marginal, and where the result of the voting is problematical.

1960 D. Butler & C. Rose Brit. Gen. Election 1959 xi. 135 Despite the concentration on marginal seats, the Conservatives managed to put on a full-scale campaign almost everywhere.

1965 Listener 24 June 921/1 It was difficult for him to give a lead on this particular topic directly after such a marginal vote in his favour.

1974 Times 13 Feb. 4/6 Redistribution can make a safe seat marginal.

1996 Sunday Tel. 13 Oct. i. 1/6 Mr Thurnham's own seat is highly marginal, with a majority of 185.

7. Of minor importance, having little effect; incidental, subsidiary (sometimes with to).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial

eathlyc890

lighteOE

littleOE

small?c1225

singlec1449

easy1474

triflous1509

naughty1526

slender1530

slight1548

shrimpish1549

slipper1567

truanta1572

toyous1581

trivious1583

mean1585

silly1587

nicea1594

puny?1594

puisne1598

pusill1599

whindling1601

sapless1602

non-significant1603

poor1603

unsignificant1603

flea-bite1605

perishing1605

lank1607

weightless1610

fonda1616

penny farthing1615

triviala1616

unweighty1621

transitory1637

twattling1651

inconsiderate1655

unserious1655

nugal1656

small drink1656

slighty1662

minute1668

paddling1679

snitling1682

retail1697

Lilliputian1726

vain1731

rattletrap1760

peppercornish1762

peppercorn1791

underling1804

venial1806

lightweight1809

floccinaucical1826

small-bore1833

minified1837

trantlum1838

piffling1848

tea-tabular1855

potty1860

whipping-snapping1861

tea-gardeny1862

quiddling1863

twaddling1863

fidgeting1865

penny ante1865

feather-weighted1870

jerkwater1877

midget1879

mimsy1880

shirttail1881

two-by-four1885

footle1894

skittery1905

footery1929

Mickey Mouse1931

chickenshit1934

minoritized1945

marginal1952

marginalized1961

tea-party1961

little league1962

marginalizing1977

minnowy1991

1952 Times 26 Jan. 5/6 The possibilities of immediate change are marginal.

1955 Times 11 June 9/6 Most of the changes are..shifts of emphasis rather than reversals of previous policy; they are important but they are marginal.

1959 Times 14 Jan. 3/6 There is no major writer who uses the stage as his preferred medium of creation... Mr. Graham Greene and Mr. Angus Wilson, for example, still seem marginal to the drama.

1969 Listener 16 Jan. 92/3 The lack of a character with which we can identify—..the soldiers..remain uncharacterised and marginal—soon stills our wish to be emotionally involved.

1984 P. Zweig Walt Whitman (1986) 18 His reputation was at best that of a marginal poet.

1990 A. S. Byatt Possession xxiv. 437 He felt marginal. Marginal to her family, her feminism, her ease with her social peers.

B. n.

1. A marginal note, reference, or decoration. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > commentary > [noun] > comment or note > marginal note

postilc1395

apostil1527

by-note1579

marginal1606

postillism1626

side note1730

marginalia1819

society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > decoration > in margin

marginal1743

1606 Returne from Pernassus i. ii. sig. B2 For Lodge and Watson, men of some desert, Yet subiect to a Critticks marginall.

a1641 J. Smyth Berkeley MSS (1883) II. 205 What great services hee often did against the French,..the marginall will informe his posterity.

1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Vindic. Answer Hvmble Remonstr. §4. 59 Doth not the Marginall tell you..that the holy Church was founded in the state of Prelacie?

1743 W. Emerson Doctr. Fluxions 34 The Values of the Marginals on the left.

1861 H. Grote Let. 10 Nov. in Lewin Lett. (1909) II. v. 243 I found your interesting narrative wi' Tom's marginals, à la Obadiah Mucklewraith.

1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 10 Oct. 7/4 The text is printed in old black letter type, with pictorial headings and marginals.

1900 G. Seton-Thompson Woman Tenderfoot 5 In this Book the full-page Drawings were made by Ernest Seton-Thompson..and the Marginals by S. N. Abbott.

1972 A. C. Wolfe & M. M. Chapman (title) The 1971 Survey of Washtenaw County Physicians Concerning Alcoholism and Traffic Safety. Summary Report and Codebook with Marginals.

a. Zoology. A marginal part or structure, usually one of a set; esp. (a) each of the plates along the sides of the arm of a starfish; (b) each of the scutes forming the edge of the carapace of a turtle or tortoise.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > hard or protective covering > scale > large scale or bony plate

cuirass1605

shield1704

carapace1835

scutcheon1846

scute1848

carapax1849

marginal1883

osteoderm1898

1883 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 456 Dermal Scutes [of Testudo pardalis]:—co, costals; v, vertebrals; m, marginals.

1923 Nature 13 Jan. 47/1 What these specialists are impressed by is the ‘phanerozonate’ character of the Astropectinidae, that is, the edging of the arms with a series of broad plates termed the ‘marginals’.

1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs v. 96 Central and lateral teeth are lacking, the radula..consisting of long slender marginals at either side.

1962 D. Nichols Echinoderms iii. 50 In the more advanced forms..the marginals are no bigger than the other lateral and aboral plates.

1986 T. R. Halliday & K. Adler Encycl. Reptiles & Amphibians 83/1 Shell well developed, with 24 marginal and 12 plastral scutes, pectorals and abdominals meeting marginals.

b. Ornithology. A contour feather or covert on the leading edge of a bird's wing. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > other types of

wing-covert1815

under-covert1817

contour feather1867

tectrix1874

marginal1887

predigital1887

1887 Proc. Zool. Soc. 347 This group of feathers..form on the anterior border a shelving series, giving a clean finishing edge to the anterior margin of the wing. They are best termed marginals (tectrices marginales).

1898 F. E. Beddard Struct. & Classif. Birds 9 The patagium is mainly filled up with several rows of feathers, which are collectively termed the marginals.

1964 A. L. Thomson New Dict. Birds 890/2 The remainder of the wing is covered by three sets of wing coverts (tectrices),..the major, minor, and marginales, the last in several rows covering the leading edge of the wing.

3. Politics. A marginal constituency or seat.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [noun] > constituency > type of

borough1512

close borough1771

pocket borough1783

borough-constituency1868

index constituency1888

Euro-constituency1957

supermarginal1960

marginal1966

1966 New Statesman 25 Feb. 246/1 For Labour MPs in ‘marginals’..it means that their perilous positions could be secured.

1970 Guardian 16 June 10/4 Three of the four Labour-held marginals theoretically at risk would be lost only on a swing against Labour of between 4 and 5 per cent.

1985 J. Mortimer Paradise Postponed xix. 234 Hartscombe is a Labour marginal where Ben Leverett, M.P., had a majority at the last election of only thirty-nine.

1992 Economist 28 Mar. 35/3 In Tory marginals like Hornsey & Wood Green and Streatham, where blacks and Asians make up more than a fifth of the residents, their votes could tell.

4. Botany. A plant that requires a constantly wet soil, and typically grows in shallow water at the edge of a pond or other body of water.

ΚΠ

1976 Milton Keynes Express 18 June 28/3 (advt.) Lilies, marginals, oxygenators, pools, liners, fountain pumps, cascades.

1995 Pract. Householder Mar. 50/1 Most pond plants are technically ‘marginals’—those that grow at the edge of a pond with just a little water covering the soil.

Compounds

marginal bible n. a bible incorporating marginal notes.

ΚΠ

1804 Will E. McNew in Will Bk. Washington Co., Virginia 441 1 Marginal Bible, [$]4.

1867 R. Roberts Twelve Lect. (ed. 4) vi. 177 If the reader will examine any marginal Bible, he will find that ‘among’ is given as the true rendering of the word translated ‘within’.

1903 Expositor July 1 Fuller lists..in what are called ‘marginal bibles’.

marginal cost n. Economics the extra cost incurred by increasing output of a product by one unit.

ΚΠ

1892 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 6 206 Persistency in production being the result of an equation between marginal cost and value, an excess cannot exist.

1930 Economist 28 June 1441/1 The proposals were based upon marginal cost on full-time running.

1969 J. Argenti Managem. Techniques 155 Marginal cost calculations can be extremely complex in a large multi~product company... Unless marginal costing is used, the answer given to the question ‘will it pay us to meet this order or should we turn it down?’ will be wrong.

1990 Eurobusiness June 35/3 To maximise profits a company must increase sales until the marginal cost equals the marginal income (i.e. the profit margin is zero).

† marginal finger n. Obsolete a diagrammatic finger or hand set in the margin of a page to draw attention to something in the main text; also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > printing > printers' symbols and directions > [noun] > finger or hand in margin

hand1553

marginal finger1604

index1727

fist-note1934

manicule1986

1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore i. i. 112 Let it stand Within the Wizardes booke (the kalendar) Markt with a marginall finger.

1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry iii. sig. G4^v To haue mens marginall fingers point At Charaloys, as a lamented story.

marginal rate n. in a progressive taxation structure, the additional tax paid for each unit increase in income; the difference in tax rates levied at different levels of income.

ΚΠ

1953 ‘W.M.D.’ in Lady Rhys-Williams Taxation & Incentive 175 In the case we have examined..the rise in the marginal rate of taxation will be accompanied by a proportionate rise in the average rate, since the tax will fall on all units of income.

1978 J. A. Kay & M. A. King Brit. Tax System xiii. 225 A tax system is progressive if, and only if, the marginal rate of tax is higher than the average rate of tax: if you pay a higher rate of tax on any additional earnings than you do on your current earnings.

1993 N.Y. Times 21 Mar. i. 28/1 President Clinton's proposal would push the top tax rates, or marginal rates, into the high 30-percent and 40 percent range of taxpayers with incomes of at least $140,000.

marginal release n. rare = margin release n. at margin n. Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

1914 Pitman's Commercial Self-educator I. 163/1 Closely connected with these Marginal Stops is the Margin Release, which in the latest models takes the form of a key marked ‘Marginal Release’ or ‘M.R.’

marginal relief n. remission of tax given in respect of an income, taxable sum, etc., at the lower end of a particular tax band; cf. marginal rate n.

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1919 Your Income Tax xxv. 192 War Changes and Concessions. Marginal relief, or on the Border Line.

1938 R. Staples ‘Taxation’ Man. ii. 19 As some hardship would be caused to cases where the income slightly exceeded £500, ‘marginal relief’ was introduced.

1948 Visct. Simon Income Tax I. i. 26 The high rates of tax [in 1916] very severely penalised incomes coming just over certain limits,..and ‘marginal relief’ was introduced into the income tax code for the first time.

1975 Econ. Jrnl. 85 516 Since a system [of estate duty] of this kind, if not modified, would have produced sudden, sharp fluctuations in the marginal rate of duty, marginal relief was given to ensure a smooth progression in payments.

marginal revenue n. Economics the extra revenue derived from increasing output of a product by one unit.

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1932 Econ. Jrnl. 42 546 From the individual demand curve of each firm can be derived its individual marginal revenue curve.

1960 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 74 42 At the maximum profit position the marginal revenue product of the expenditure on advertising..is equal to the price elasticity of demand.

1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) iii. 51 Firms would produce an amount such that the marginal revenue obtained—the revenue from the sale of a unit of output—would equal the marginal cost of its production.

marginal utility n. Economics the increase in utility which a person derives from the use or consumption of one additional unit of a good or service; cf. marginal value n.

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1925 J. M. Keynes in A. C. Pigou Memorials A. Marshall 22 It undoubtedly gave Jevons priority of publication as regards the group of ideas connected with ‘marginal’ (or, as Jevons called it, ‘final’) utility.

1931 Encycl. Social Sci. V. 366/1 In 1871..W. Stanley Jevons coined the phrase final utility, Carl Menger spoke of marginal utility and Léon Walras used the term rarity.

1960 Amer. Econ. Rev. 50 177 The demand schedule and demand elasticity are described with the assistance of the marginal utility concept.

1997 A. Sivanandan When Memory Dies iv. 161 The Economics professor went on and on about apples and oranges and marginal utility.

marginal value n. Economics the extra value which a person derives from the use or consumption of one additional unit of a good or service (cf. marginal utility n.); the extra value which a producer derives from increasing output of a product by one unit (cf. marginal revenue n.).

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1891 Econ. Jrnl. 1 836 Comments on..the new phase in the theory of marginal value.

1909 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 23 228 This product [sc. utility value], depending on marginal value only, is very independent of total-value.

1951 Amer. Econ. Rev. 41 422 The slopes of the curves indicate marginal value (or revenue) productivity.

1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory iii. 131 Interpretation of the dual program..requires that we think of x_i, the component of some solution, as the maximum price that the producer would be willing to pay for one extra (small) unit of F_i. This is called the marginal value of F_i.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	marginal
释义	marginaladj.n. Brit. /ˈmɑːdʒɪnl/, /ˈmɑːdʒn̩l/, U.S. /ˈmɑrdʒənəl/ Forms: 1500s–1600s marginall, 1600s– marginal, 1900s marginale (rare). Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin marginalis. Etymology: < post-classical Latin marginalis littoral (earliest c1170 in a British source), written in the margin (from late 13th cent. in British sources, although early 13th cent. as noun) < classical Latin margin- , margō margin n. + -ālis -al suffix¹. Compare Middle French, French marginal written in the margin (15th-cent. in an isolated example, otherwise from a1598; 1804 in use in natural history (compare sense A. 2b), 20th cent. in further senses). A. adj. 1. Written or printed in the margin of a page; esp. in marginal note, marginal reference. In quot. 1611: at the margin of the page (rather than indented). ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [adjective] > written or printed in page margin margent1555 marginal1573 marginean1656 society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [adjective] > printed in margin margent1555 marginal1573 1573 R. Lever Arte of Reason iv. xxii. 198 I thinke it needlesse, here to repeate, how many kindes of gaynsettes there bee:..bycause it may suffice the diligent reader, to be referred by oure marginall note. 1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. 34 (margin) Thes words are..made plaine, in the first Epistle, Li. 6. in a marginall note. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Marc Looke the next marginall word. 1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 41 To club quotations with men whose learning and beleif lies in marginal stuffings. a1656 J. Hales Golden Remains (1673) i. 278 That so you may bring them [sc. scattered notes] together by marginal references. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 227 Marginal Notes come down the side (or sides, If the Page have two Columns). a1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 78 Here there is a line reading, and a marginal. 1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans II. 48 Mr. Canne, author of the Marginal References to the Bible. 1781 J. Bentham Corr. (1971) III. 26 The marginal-contenting..is a sort of hobby-horse exercise of mine. 1860 C. Dickens Let. 2 May (1997) IX. 245 I thought the marginal references over-done. 1885 Act 48 Vict. c. 15 Sched. ii. Precept §35 You are..to publish..the register with your marginal additions. 1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night iii. 45 I'm afraid it's rather full of marginal balloons and interlineations. 1962 N. Davis & C. L. Wrenn Eng. & Medieval Stud. 187 These facts..lend force to Tatlock's marginal and unsupported comment. 1988 National Trust Mag. Spring 13/1 Burghley's confident marginal comments are footnotes to history. 2. a. Relating to an edge, border, boundary, or limit; situated at or affecting the extreme edge of an area, mass, etc. Of a plant: growing at or near the boundary of a habitat, esp. at the edge of woodland or (spec.) a body of water (cf. sense B. 4). ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [adjective] marginal1658 margent1811 fringe1902 1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Marginal, belonging to the margin or margent, i. the brink or brim of any thing. 1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics vi. 54 The central parts of the lens..refract the rays too little, and the marginal parts too much. 1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton vii. 100 A marginal growth of willow and flag. 1882 Garden 25 Mar. 202/2 Lobelias..are most useful, as marginal plants for flower beds and borders. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 229 The lenses are of special optical glass, constructed with the nicest precision of curvature, so maintaining good marginal definition. 1893 S. Lane-Poole Aurengzib xii. 190 The extreme point south of Trichinopoly, and the marginal possessions of the Portuguese. 1925 J. Laird Our Minds & their Bodies ii. 31 For scientific purposes the marginal or borderline cases are usually the most instructive. 1934 H. C. Warren Dict. Psychol. 159/1 Marginal contrast, an accentuated type of simultaneous contrast, which occurs in regions close to the boundary between two contrasting areas. 1957 R. G. Collomb Dict. Mountaineering 52 The changing angle of slope over which it [sc. a glacier] flows causes marginal crevasses and transverse crevasses in mid-stream. 1962 M. L. Haselgrove Photographers' Dict. 141 (caption) A beam parallel to the principal axis will not be brought to a focus at the principal focus; marginal rays will converge to M while axial rays converge to A. 1990 Amateur Gardening 7 Apr. 18/4 At the edge of the water there grow the marginal plants, these like to have their feet in water but reach up to enjoy the sun and air. b. Botany, Zoology, and Pathology. Situated at or arising from the edge of a body or part. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > specific areas or structures > [adjective] > margin or periphery peripherial1653 peripherical1690 marginated1727 submarginated1752 submargined1783 margineda1794 marginal1796 submarginal1800 peripheral1808 peripheric1818 marginate1822 limbate1826 bipectinated1836 submarginate1856 marginiform1857 bipectinate1870 limbic1882 1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 97 I never observed the seeds exposed in the marginal sinusses. 1800 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 90 436 When the marginal lips are brought together, the animal will have a considerable power of suction. 1859 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom I. 20 To send forth pseudopodia through the marginal pores. 1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 298 Adventitious shoots, arising in the thalloid forms from cells of the older marginal parts. 1914 F. E. Fritsch & E. J. Salisbury Introd. Study Plants xix. 246 The ovules are borne in rows (frequently two) along the lines of junction, so that we can speak of marginal or parietal placentation. 1962 G. C. Blake & J. R. Trott Periodontol. v. 49 Marginal gingivitis involves only the free gingiva. 1993 E. N. K. Clarkson Invertebr. Palaeontol. & Evol. (ed. 3) xi. 354/1 The suture has become marginal and the eyes are very reduced or absent. c. Psychology. Of, on, or relating to the edge or fringe of the field of consciousness. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > psychology > states of consciousness > subliminal self > [adjective] subconscious1834 subliminal1883 subliminal1886 marginal1894 1894 C. L. Morgan Introd. Compar. Psychol. i. 17 We..pay attention solely to focal consciousness, omitting all reference to the great body of marginal subconsciousness. 1899 W. James Talks to Teachers ii. 18 The expressions ‘focal object’ and ‘marginal object’, which we owe to Mr. Lloyd Morgan, require, I think, no further explanation. 1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality I. Introd. 14 They speak of ‘fringes’ of ordinary consciousness; of ‘marginal’ associations. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 108 The field of consciousness with its focal and marginal presentations. 1954 J. R. Cavanagh & J. B. McGoldrick Fund. Psychiatry vii. 84 The outraged feelings, the effects, are in focal attention, and the repressed conflict, the cause, is in marginal awareness (unconscious). 1967 Philos. Rev. 76 193 (note) The ‘minuteness of perceptions’ that we presystematically associate with perceiving objects that are a long way off is considered to be a species of confusion and thus of marginal consciousness. 3. Stock Market. Of, relating to, or concerned with margins (margin n. 5a); designating or involving securities trading on margin. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [adjective] > specific operations or arrangements short1849 marginal1870 odd lot1870 share pushing1896 new-time1897 stop-loss1901 over the counter1921 physical1946 OTC1965 index-linked1970 bed and breakfast1974 mark-to-market1981 1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Myst. Wall St. 59 Nor is there any dissimilarity between the conditions of purchase in complete and in marginal transactions. 1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Myst. Wall St. 62 The broker..demands of his customer either solid deposit of money or stocks, or marginal deposit of money. 1930 Economist 22 Mar. 653/1 Dominion and colonial stocks..attracted only the ‘marginal’ business of the market. 1936 Economist 15 Feb. 368/2 The Great Western, whose ‘marginal’ security is an ordinary stock. 1938 J. B. Williams Theory Investment Value iii. 21 To the marginal investor, it will be indifferent whether he invests in stock or in promissory notes. 1954 B. Graham Intelligent Investor ii. 34 Marginal trading—a potent cause of financial ruin to many—has been held within strict limits and at times suspended entirely. 1983 Rev. Econ. Stud. 50 251 The optimal cash positions may be chosen by setting the input price equal to the value of the marginal product evaluated at the (discounted) current price of futures. 4. a. That is on or close to a limit below or beyond which something ceases to be possible or desirable; borderline. In Economics: showing, representing, or achieving a small margin of profit; close to the limit of profitability or sustainability. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [adjective] > that is close to a limit marginal1887 society > occupation and work > work > product of work > [adjective] > with small profit margin marginal1887 1887 Daily News 23 May 2/8 Competition is as keen as ever and prices as marginal as they can be. 1906 W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) ix. 225 In an exhausted country, with no marginal resources, the outlook on the future would be much darker. 1909 J. A. Hobson Industr. Syst. v. 109 So with the case of the ‘marginal shepherd’, the tenth man whom a farmer calculates it is just worth his while to employ because he can get him for the price of twenty sheep a year, and he will just save that number by his work. 1909 J. A. Hobson Industr. Syst. v. 109 Marginal productivity of labour..the productivity of any single man, ‘marginal’ or other. 1929 New Statesman 1 June 232/1 For the ‘marginal’ voter—he who is at the point of indifference whether he comes to the poll or not—is unlikely..to be induced to do so by any really important consideration. 1953 J. L. Hanson Textbk. Econ. iv. xiii. 228 If profits in the industry fall, the marginal firms will be the first to leave. 1957 Times 21 Dec. 5/2 The weather at Idlewild international airport was reported to be ‘marginal’, and the captain had to ensure that sufficient fuel remained to divert to an alternative base. 1958 Listener 25 Sept. 447/1 The ordinary American citizen enjoys amenities which not even the rich enjoyed a century ago, and marginal output consists of goods that by any standards are patently inessential. 1958 Listener 25 Sept. 448/1 Marginal production in affluent America today..is in general much less urgent..than was marginal production 100 years ago. 1963 Times 16 Apr. 13/1 At any point of time there are some who would buy less coal if the price went up, either economizing in fuel or switching to some alternative. We economists call these the ‘marginal’ users. 1973 Black Panther 8 Sept. 12/3 In Southern Appalachia, Black Appalachians are ‘marginal’ (just above the poverty level). 1991 Economist 5 Jan. 27/1 Without unions fighting to keep up wages, employers are free to cut back costs by squeezing pay rather than by sacking marginal workers. b. Economics. Of or relating to the extra cost, revenue, or utility involved in or deriving from the production or consumption of one additional unit of a product. See also marginal cost n. at Compounds.Economic theory generally predicts that, within certain limits, marginal cost of production decreases as total output increases. Under conditions of imperfect competition, however, marginal revenue may also decrease as total output increases. Cf. marginalism n. ΚΠ 1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. i. p. x The term ‘marginal’ increment I borrowed from von Thünen, and it is now commonly used by German economists. 1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. (1898) iii. iii. 168 That part of the thing which he is only just induced to purchase may be called his marginal purchase, because he is on the margin of doubt whether it is worth his while to incur the outlay required to obtain it. 1914 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 28 752 Both selling price and marginal expense of production are variable functions of the same third variable, supply. 1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment iv. ii. 135 The relation between the prospective yield of a capital-asset and its supply price or replacement cost, i.e. the relation between the prospective yield of one more unit of that type of capital and the cost of producing that unit, furnishes us with the marginal efficiency of capital of that type. 1960 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 68 482/1 Absence of factor-supply independence means that the marginal expenditure of the whole establishment on the item is greater than the apparent marginal expense to each buyer acting individually. 1976 D. W. Moffat Econ. Dict. 175/2 Actually, marginal refers to small changes—one unit if discrete items are being analyzed, or an infinitesimal change if the function is continuous. c. Economics. Of land, ore, etc.: yielding or likely to yield little or no profit. Of a farmer, etc.: working such land. Cf. quot. 1863 at margin n. 3a. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [adjective] > marginal marginal1910 the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [adjective] > marginal marginal1935 1910 P. H. Wicksteed Common Sense of Polit. Econ. ii. vi. 571 ‘Marginal land’..is not land..considered with reference to the volume of supply. 1935 Economist 30 Nov. 1095/2 Huge quantities of marginal ore which, unattractive at the old price of gold, are attractive at the new. 1943 J. S. Huxley TVA i. 7 Reafforestation and the proper use of marginal lands. 1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 283 Policy..of aiding the thousands of inefficient marginal farmers to raise their standards of farming. 1954 M. Beresford Lost Villages Eng. x. 346 Derbyshire... There seems to have been surprisingly little retreat of settlement from marginal lands in the Peak. 1975 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 May 471/3 The bringing back into production of marginal agricultural land..formed part of his [sc. Keynes's] vision. 1990 Accountancy Mar. 68/1 Surplus farm buildings and unproductive land (unmanaged woodland, marginal ground) are other neglected farm assets. 5. a. Sociology. Of an individual or social group: isolated from or not conforming to the dominant society or culture; (perceived as being) on the edge of a society or social unit; belonging to a minority group (frequently with implications of consequent disadvantage). Also: partly belonging to two differing social groups or cultures but not fully integrated into either. See also marginal man n.In first quot. with admixture of sense A. 2a. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > separation or isolation > [adjective] > not fully integrated marginal1925 1925 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 31 36 The marginal tribes on the periphery of an area are no longer truly representative of it. 1949 Persona 1 6 (title) The marginal position of the physically handicapped in a competitive society. 1964 R. D. Hopper in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 324 The Creole marginal group constituted about 10 per cent of the population at the time of the revolution. 1970 N. A. Victoria in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. xv. 574 When Batista was overthrown, the politically marginal classes comprised almost the whole Cuban people. 1987 D. Clandfield Canad. Film iv. 77 Each featured a marginal child (one an autistic boy, the other a street brat) in the title role and set their parallel fantasy-world on a course towards self-destruction. 1993 Chicago Tribune 16 Apr. ii. 2/2 Richard Duntz held sway over the other marginal types who hung out on the steps of Town Hall—before his brother torched it. b. Of an aspect of culture, the arts, etc.: unorthodox; removed from the mainstream; having a limited following. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > [adjective] > deviating from rule or standard exorbitant1534 unorthodox1629 aberrant1778 aberrated1786 divergent1801 radical1869 nonstandard1870 non-regular1896 non-regulation1953 non-conformant1960 alternative1962 sideways1969 alternate1970 marginala1988 alt1988 a1988 R. Williams Polit. of Modernism (1989) ii. 46 So nearly complete was this vast cultural reformation that, at the levels directly concerned—the succeeding metropolitan formations of learning and practice—what had once been defiantly marginal..became, in its turn, orthodox. 1991 Twenty Twenty Spring 67/2 An admirable small label dedicated to all things marginal is reVision. 1993 Guardian 19 Oct. ii. 5/3 An increasingly ‘hit-driven’ market is crowding out small, marginal and maverick films. 1999 Afr. News Service (Electronic ed.) 22 Jan. I managed to catch the tail-end of one of the strongest marginal theatre forces in our country. 6. Politics. Of a constituency, etc.: in which an election is expected to be closely contested, the sitting or outgoing member typically having only a small majority. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [adjective] > type of constituency snug1844 three-cornered1882 multi-member1911 marginal1948 supermarginal1955 1948 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 42 1022 The leading candidate for President generally pulls through ‘on his coat-tails’ to marginal House seats his fellow-partisans. 1951 Times 25 Oct. 6/3 (heading) Marginal seats... A significant feature of today's General Election polling is the substantial number of constituencies which may be described as marginal, and where the result of the voting is problematical. 1960 D. Butler & C. Rose Brit. Gen. Election 1959 xi. 135 Despite the concentration on marginal seats, the Conservatives managed to put on a full-scale campaign almost everywhere. 1965 Listener 24 June 921/1 It was difficult for him to give a lead on this particular topic directly after such a marginal vote in his favour. 1974 Times 13 Feb. 4/6 Redistribution can make a safe seat marginal. 1996 Sunday Tel. 13 Oct. i. 1/6 Mr Thurnham's own seat is highly marginal, with a majority of 185. 7. Of minor importance, having little effect; incidental, subsidiary (sometimes with to). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial eathlyc890 lighteOE littleOE small?c1225 singlec1449 easy1474 triflous1509 naughty1526 slender1530 slight1548 shrimpish1549 slipper1567 truanta1572 toyous1581 trivious1583 mean1585 silly1587 nicea1594 puny?1594 puisne1598 pusill1599 whindling1601 sapless1602 non-significant1603 poor1603 unsignificant1603 flea-bite1605 perishing1605 lank1607 weightless1610 fonda1616 penny farthing1615 triviala1616 unweighty1621 transitory1637 twattling1651 inconsiderate1655 unserious1655 nugal1656 small drink1656 slighty1662 minute1668 paddling1679 snitling1682 retail1697 Lilliputian1726 vain1731 rattletrap1760 peppercornish1762 peppercorn1791 underling1804 venial1806 lightweight1809 floccinaucical1826 small-bore1833 minified1837 trantlum1838 piffling1848 tea-tabular1855 potty1860 whipping-snapping1861 tea-gardeny1862 quiddling1863 twaddling1863 fidgeting1865 penny ante1865 feather-weighted1870 jerkwater1877 midget1879 mimsy1880 shirttail1881 two-by-four1885 footle1894 skittery1905 footery1929 Mickey Mouse1931 chickenshit1934 minoritized1945 marginal1952 marginalized1961 tea-party1961 little league1962 marginalizing1977 minnowy1991 1952 Times 26 Jan. 5/6 The possibilities of immediate change are marginal. 1955 Times 11 June 9/6 Most of the changes are..shifts of emphasis rather than reversals of previous policy; they are important but they are marginal. 1959 Times 14 Jan. 3/6 There is no major writer who uses the stage as his preferred medium of creation... Mr. Graham Greene and Mr. Angus Wilson, for example, still seem marginal to the drama. 1969 Listener 16 Jan. 92/3 The lack of a character with which we can identify—..the soldiers..remain uncharacterised and marginal—soon stills our wish to be emotionally involved. 1984 P. Zweig Walt Whitman (1986) 18 His reputation was at best that of a marginal poet. 1990 A. S. Byatt Possession xxiv. 437 He felt marginal. Marginal to her family, her feminism, her ease with her social peers. B. n. 1. A marginal note, reference, or decoration. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > commentary > [noun] > comment or note > marginal note postilc1395 apostil1527 by-note1579 marginal1606 postillism1626 side note1730 marginalia1819 society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > decoration > in margin marginal1743 1606 Returne from Pernassus i. ii. sig. B2 For Lodge and Watson, men of some desert, Yet subiect to a Critticks marginall. a1641 J. Smyth Berkeley MSS (1883) II. 205 What great services hee often did against the French,..the marginall will informe his posterity. 1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Vindic. Answer Hvmble Remonstr. §4. 59 Doth not the Marginall tell you..that the holy Church was founded in the state of Prelacie? 1743 W. Emerson Doctr. Fluxions 34 The Values of the Marginals on the left. 1861 H. Grote Let. 10 Nov. in Lewin Lett. (1909) II. v. 243 I found your interesting narrative wi' Tom's marginals, à la Obadiah Mucklewraith. 1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 10 Oct. 7/4 The text is printed in old black letter type, with pictorial headings and marginals. 1900 G. Seton-Thompson Woman Tenderfoot 5 In this Book the full-page Drawings were made by Ernest Seton-Thompson..and the Marginals by S. N. Abbott. 1972 A. C. Wolfe & M. M. Chapman (title) The 1971 Survey of Washtenaw County Physicians Concerning Alcoholism and Traffic Safety. Summary Report and Codebook with Marginals. 2. a. Zoology. A marginal part or structure, usually one of a set; esp. (a) each of the plates along the sides of the arm of a starfish; (b) each of the scutes forming the edge of the carapace of a turtle or tortoise. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > hard or protective covering > scale > large scale or bony plate cuirass1605 shield1704 carapace1835 scutcheon1846 scute1848 carapax1849 marginal1883 osteoderm1898 1883 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 456 Dermal Scutes [of Testudo pardalis]:—co, costals; v, vertebrals; m, marginals. 1923 Nature 13 Jan. 47/1 What these specialists are impressed by is the ‘phanerozonate’ character of the Astropectinidae, that is, the edging of the arms with a series of broad plates termed the ‘marginals’. 1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs v. 96 Central and lateral teeth are lacking, the radula..consisting of long slender marginals at either side. 1962 D. Nichols Echinoderms iii. 50 In the more advanced forms..the marginals are no bigger than the other lateral and aboral plates. 1986 T. R. Halliday & K. Adler Encycl. Reptiles & Amphibians 83/1 Shell well developed, with 24 marginal and 12 plastral scutes, pectorals and abdominals meeting marginals. b. Ornithology. A contour feather or covert on the leading edge of a bird's wing. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > other types of wing-covert1815 under-covert1817 contour feather1867 tectrix1874 marginal1887 predigital1887 1887 Proc. Zool. Soc. 347 This group of feathers..form on the anterior border a shelving series, giving a clean finishing edge to the anterior margin of the wing. They are best termed marginals (tectrices marginales). 1898 F. E. Beddard Struct. & Classif. Birds 9 The patagium is mainly filled up with several rows of feathers, which are collectively termed the marginals. 1964 A. L. Thomson New Dict. Birds 890/2 The remainder of the wing is covered by three sets of wing coverts (tectrices),..the major, minor, and marginales, the last in several rows covering the leading edge of the wing. 3. Politics. A marginal constituency or seat. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [noun] > constituency > type of borough1512 close borough1771 pocket borough1783 borough-constituency1868 index constituency1888 Euro-constituency1957 supermarginal1960 marginal1966 1966 New Statesman 25 Feb. 246/1 For Labour MPs in ‘marginals’..it means that their perilous positions could be secured. 1970 Guardian 16 June 10/4 Three of the four Labour-held marginals theoretically at risk would be lost only on a swing against Labour of between 4 and 5 per cent. 1985 J. Mortimer Paradise Postponed xix. 234 Hartscombe is a Labour marginal where Ben Leverett, M.P., had a majority at the last election of only thirty-nine. 1992 Economist 28 Mar. 35/3 In Tory marginals like Hornsey & Wood Green and Streatham, where blacks and Asians make up more than a fifth of the residents, their votes could tell. 4. Botany. A plant that requires a constantly wet soil, and typically grows in shallow water at the edge of a pond or other body of water. ΚΠ 1976 Milton Keynes Express 18 June 28/3 (advt.) Lilies, marginals, oxygenators, pools, liners, fountain pumps, cascades. 1995 Pract. Householder Mar. 50/1 Most pond plants are technically ‘marginals’—those that grow at the edge of a pond with just a little water covering the soil. Compounds marginal bible n. a bible incorporating marginal notes. ΚΠ 1804 Will E. McNew in Will Bk. Washington Co., Virginia 441 1 Marginal Bible, [$]4. 1867 R. Roberts Twelve Lect. (ed. 4) vi. 177 If the reader will examine any marginal Bible, he will find that ‘among’ is given as the true rendering of the word translated ‘within’. 1903 Expositor July 1 Fuller lists..in what are called ‘marginal bibles’. marginal cost n. Economics the extra cost incurred by increasing output of a product by one unit. ΚΠ 1892 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 6 206 Persistency in production being the result of an equation between marginal cost and value, an excess cannot exist. 1930 Economist 28 June 1441/1 The proposals were based upon marginal cost on full-time running. 1969 J. Argenti Managem. Techniques 155 Marginal cost calculations can be extremely complex in a large multi~product company... Unless marginal costing is used, the answer given to the question ‘will it pay us to meet this order or should we turn it down?’ will be wrong. 1990 Eurobusiness June 35/3 To maximise profits a company must increase sales until the marginal cost equals the marginal income (i.e. the profit margin is zero). † marginal finger n. Obsolete a diagrammatic finger or hand set in the margin of a page to draw attention to something in the main text; also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > printers' symbols and directions > [noun] > finger or hand in margin hand1553 marginal finger1604 index1727 fist-note1934 manicule1986 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore i. i. 112 Let it stand Within the Wizardes booke (the kalendar) Markt with a marginall finger. 1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry iii. sig. G4^v To haue mens marginall fingers point At Charaloys, as a lamented story. marginal rate n. in a progressive taxation structure, the additional tax paid for each unit increase in income; the difference in tax rates levied at different levels of income. ΚΠ 1953 ‘W.M.D.’ in Lady Rhys-Williams Taxation & Incentive 175 In the case we have examined..the rise in the marginal rate of taxation will be accompanied by a proportionate rise in the average rate, since the tax will fall on all units of income. 1978 J. A. Kay & M. A. King Brit. Tax System xiii. 225 A tax system is progressive if, and only if, the marginal rate of tax is higher than the average rate of tax: if you pay a higher rate of tax on any additional earnings than you do on your current earnings. 1993 N.Y. Times 21 Mar. i. 28/1 President Clinton's proposal would push the top tax rates, or marginal rates, into the high 30-percent and 40 percent range of taxpayers with incomes of at least $140,000. marginal release n. rare = margin release n. at margin n. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1914 Pitman's Commercial Self-educator I. 163/1 Closely connected with these Marginal Stops is the Margin Release, which in the latest models takes the form of a key marked ‘Marginal Release’ or ‘M.R.’ marginal relief n. remission of tax given in respect of an income, taxable sum, etc., at the lower end of a particular tax band; cf. marginal rate n. ΚΠ 1919 Your Income Tax xxv. 192 War Changes and Concessions. Marginal relief, or on the Border Line. 1938 R. Staples ‘Taxation’ Man. ii. 19 As some hardship would be caused to cases where the income slightly exceeded £500, ‘marginal relief’ was introduced. 1948 Visct. Simon Income Tax I. i. 26 The high rates of tax [in 1916] very severely penalised incomes coming just over certain limits,..and ‘marginal relief’ was introduced into the income tax code for the first time. 1975 Econ. Jrnl. 85 516 Since a system [of estate duty] of this kind, if not modified, would have produced sudden, sharp fluctuations in the marginal rate of duty, marginal relief was given to ensure a smooth progression in payments. marginal revenue n. Economics the extra revenue derived from increasing output of a product by one unit. ΚΠ 1932 Econ. Jrnl. 42 546 From the individual demand curve of each firm can be derived its individual marginal revenue curve. 1960 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 74 42 At the maximum profit position the marginal revenue product of the expenditure on advertising..is equal to the price elasticity of demand. 1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) iii. 51 Firms would produce an amount such that the marginal revenue obtained—the revenue from the sale of a unit of output—would equal the marginal cost of its production. marginal utility n. Economics the increase in utility which a person derives from the use or consumption of one additional unit of a good or service; cf. marginal value n. ΚΠ 1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. (1898) iii. iii. 168 That part of the thing which he is only just induced to purchase may be called his marginal purchase, because he is on the margin of doubt whether it is worth his while to incur the outlay required to obtain it. And the utility of his marginal purchase may be called the marginal utility of the thing to him. 1925 J. M. Keynes in A. C. Pigou Memorials A. Marshall 22 It undoubtedly gave Jevons priority of publication as regards the group of ideas connected with ‘marginal’ (or, as Jevons called it, ‘final’) utility. 1931 Encycl. Social Sci. V. 366/1 In 1871..W. Stanley Jevons coined the phrase final utility, Carl Menger spoke of marginal utility and Léon Walras used the term rarity. 1960 Amer. Econ. Rev. 50 177 The demand schedule and demand elasticity are described with the assistance of the marginal utility concept. 1997 A. Sivanandan When Memory Dies iv. 161 The Economics professor went on and on about apples and oranges and marginal utility. marginal value n. Economics the extra value which a person derives from the use or consumption of one additional unit of a good or service (cf. marginal utility n.); the extra value which a producer derives from increasing output of a product by one unit (cf. marginal revenue n.). ΚΠ 1891 Econ. Jrnl. 1 836 Comments on..the new phase in the theory of marginal value. 1909 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 23 228 This product [sc. utility value], depending on marginal value only, is very independent of total-value. 1951 Amer. Econ. Rev. 41 422 The slopes of the curves indicate marginal value (or revenue) productivity. 1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory iii. 131 Interpretation of the dual program..requires that we think of x_i, the component of some solution, as the maximum price that the producer would be willing to pay for one extra (small) unit of F_i. This is called the marginal value of F_i. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † marginalv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: marginal adj. Etymology: < marginal adj. Compare earlier margin v. Obsolete. rare. transitive. To enter in the margin of a book; to add marginal notes to. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > commentary > write commentary on [verb (transitive)] > annotate > with marginal notes postila1464 postillate?a1475 margin1595 marginate1609 margent1610 apostil1637 marginala1641 postillize1691 admarginatea1834 a1641 J. Smyth Berkeley MSS (1883) I. 212 The records here marginald. 1787 J. Bentham Wks. (1843) X. 170 I am marginaling Essai sur les Recompenses. All I have to say..is marginaled and ready for reading. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online September 2018). < adj.n.1573v.a1641
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marginaladj.n.

Compounds

† marginalv.