margin

- 10 dictionary results

mar⋅gin

[mahr-jin]

–noun

1.	the space around the printed or written matter on a page.

2.	an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary: to allow a margin for error.

3.	a limit in condition, capacity, etc., beyond or below which something ceases to exist, be desirable, or be possible: the margin of endurance; the margin of sanity.

4.	a border or edge.

5.	Philately. selvage (def. 3).

Finance.

a.	security, as a percentage in money, deposited with a broker by a client as a provision against loss on transactions.

b.	the amount representing the customer's investment or equity in such an account.

7.	the difference between the amount of a loan and the market value of the collateral pledged as security for it.

8.	Commerce. the difference between the cost and the selling price.

9.	an amount or degree of difference: The measure passed by a margin of just three votes.

10.	Economics. the point at which the return from economic activity barely covers the cost of production, and below which production is unprofitable.

11.	Entomology. the border of an insect's wing.

–verb (used with object)

12.	to provide with a margin or border.

13.	to furnish with marginal notes, as a document.

14.	to enter in the margin, as of a book.

15.	Finance. to deposit a margin upon.

16.	Stock Exchange. to purchase (securities) on margin: That stock was heavily margined during the last month.

Origin:
1300–50; ME < L margin- (s. of margō) border; akin to march ²

Synonyms:
3. confine, bound. 4. rim, verge, brink. See edge.

Antonyms:
4. center.

Margin
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sel⋅vage

[sel-vij]

–noun

1.	the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling, often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of the fabric.

2.	any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

3.	Also called margin. Philately. the surplus paper or margin around a sheet of stamps: The number of the plate block appears in the selvage.

4.	a plate or surface through which a bolt of a lock passes.

Also, selvedge.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME, resp. of self + edge, modeled on MD selfegghe (D zelfegge)

Related forms:

selvaged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To margin

mar·gin (mär'jĭn)

An edge and the area immediately adjacent to it; a border. See Synonyms at border.
The blank space bordering the written or printed area on a page.
A limit in a condition or process, beyond or below which something is no longer possible or acceptable: the margin of reality; has crossed the margin of civilized behavior.
An amount allowed beyond what is needed: a small margin of safety. See Synonyms at room.
A measure, quantity, or degree of difference: a margin of 500 votes.
Economics
1. The minimum return that an enterprise may earn and still pay for itself.
2. The difference between the cost and the selling price of securities or commodities.
3. The difference between the market value of collateral and the face value of a loan.
An amount in money, or represented by securities, deposited by a customer with a broker as a provision against loss on transactions made on account.
Botany The border of a leaf.

tr.v. mar·gined, mar·gin·ing, mar·gins

To provide with a margin.
To be a margin to; border.
To inscribe or enter in the margin of a page.
Economics
1. To add margin to: margin up a brokerage account.
2. To deposit margin for: margin a transaction.
3. To buy or hold (securities) by depositing or adding to a margin.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin margō, margin-; see merg- in Indo-European roots.]
mar'gined adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

margin

1362, "space between a block of text and the edge of a page," from L. margo (gen. marginis) "edge," from PIE *mereg- "edge, boundary" (see mark (1)). General sense of "boundary space" is from 1382. Meaning "comfort allowance, cushion" is from 1851; margin of safety first recorded 1888. Stock market sense of "sum deposited with a broker to cover risk of loss" is from 1848. Marginal (1576) originally meant "written on the margin," from M.L. marginalis, from L. margo; sense of "of little effect or importance" first recorded 1887.

selvage

c.1460, "edge of web or cloth so finished as to prevent raveling," apparently lit. "its own edge," a corruption of self + edge, on analogy of M.Flem. selvegge (cf. also Low Ger. sulfegge; Du. zelfkant, from kant "border;" M.H.G. selbende, Ger. Selbend, lit. "self-end").

Financial Dictionary

Margin

1. Borrowed money that is used to purchase securities. This practice is referred to as 'buying on margin'.

2. The amount of equity contributed by a customer as a percentage of the current market value of the securities held in a margin account.

3. In a general business context, the difference between a product's (or service's) selling price and the cost of production. 4. The portion of the interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage that is over and above the adjustment-index rate. This portion is retained as profit by the lender.

Investopedia Commentary

1. Buying with borrowed money can be extremely risky because both gains and losses are amplified. That is, while the potential for greater profit exists, this comes at a hefty price -- the potential for greater losses. Margin also subjects the investor to a number of unique risks such as interest payments for use of the borrowed money.

2. For example, if you hold futures contracts in a margin account, you have to maintain a certain amount of margin depending on how the market value of the contracts change.

3. Gross profit margin (which is the difference between revenue and expenses) is one measure of a company's performance.

4. The formula for calculating the interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage is the adjustment-index rate (e.g. Treasury Index) plus the percentage of the margin. For example, if the Treasury Index is 6% and the interest rate on the mortgage is 8%, the margin is 2%.

Also spelled: margen

Financial Dictionary

margin

The amount of funds that must be deposited when purchasing securities. See also initial margin requirement.
The equity in an investor's account. See also maintenance margin requirement.

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: mar·gin
Pronunciation: 'mär-j&n
Function: noun
1 : the difference between net sales and the cost of the merchandise sold from which expenses are usually met or profits derived
2 : the amount by which the market value of collateral is greater than the face value of a loan
3 a : cash or collateral deposited in a regulated amount by a client with a broker who is financing the purchase of securities —see also REGULATION T b : a deposit made with a broker by a client who is trading in futures

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mar·gin
Pronunciation: 'mär-j&n
Function: noun
1 : the outside limit or edge of something (as a bodily part or a wound)
2 : the part of consciousness at a particular moment that is felt only vaguely and dimly

Medical Dictionary

margin mar·gin (mär'jĭn)
n.

A border or edge, as of an organ.
A limit in a condition or process, beyond or below which something is no longer possible or acceptable.
An amount that is allowed but that is beyond what is needed.
A measure, quantity, or degree of difference.

Search another word or see margin on Thesaurus | Reference

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