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marginal

[mahr-juh-nl]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

pertaining to a margin.

situated on the border or edge.

at the outer or lower limits; minimal for requirements; almost insufficient: marginal subsistence; marginal ability.

written or printed in the margin of a page: a marginal note.

Sociology. marked by contact with disparate cultures, and acquiring some but not all the traits or values common to any one of them.

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Economics.

selling goods at a price that just equals the additional cost of producing the last unit supplied.

of or pertaining to goods produced and marketed at margin: marginal profits.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1570–80; < Medieval Latin marginālis of, pertaining to an edge. See margin, -al¹

Related forms

mar·gin·al·i·ty, noun

mar·gin·al·ly, adverb

in·ter·mar·gi·nal, adjective

su·per·mar·gin·al, adjective

su·per·mar·gin·al·ly, adverb

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trans·mar·gi·nal, adjective

trans·mar·gi·nal·ly, adverb

un·mar·gin·al, adjective

un·mar·gin·al·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Marginal is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Example Sentences

Those kinds of distinctions are often based on envy and vanity more than marginal comfort or real benefit.

Normally the response of the world's farmers would be to increase output by planting on marginal land.

Usually x will equal a marginal profit over cost, but the volume helps the supplier, too.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

marginal (ˈmɑːdʒɪn^əl)

—*adj*
1.	of, in, on, or constituting a margin
2.	close to a limit, esp a lower limit: marginal legal ability
3.	not considered central or important; insignificant, minor, small
4.	economics relating to goods or services produced and sold at the margin of profitability: marginal cost
5.	chiefly (Brit), (NZ) politics of or designating a constituency in which elections tend to be won by small margins: a marginal seat
6.	designating agricultural land on the margin of cultivated zones
7.	economics relating to a small change in something, such as total cost, revenue, or consumer satisfaction

—n
8.	chiefly (Brit), (NZ) politics a marginal constituency

marginality

—n

'marginally

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

marginal

1570s, written on the margin, from M.L. marginalis, from L. margo (see margin). Sense of "of little effect or importance" first recorded 1887. Related: Marginally.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

marginal mar·gin·al (mär'jə-nəl)
adj.

Of, relating to, located at, or constituting a margin, a border, or an edge.
Marginally within a lower standard or limit of quality.
Relating to or located at the fringe of consciousness.

mar'gin·al'i·ty (-jə-nāl'ĭ-tē) n.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

marginal definition

jargon
1. Extremely small. "A marginal increase in core can decrease GC time drastically." In everyday terms, this means that it is a lot easier to clean off your desk if you have a spare place to put some of the junk while you sort through it.
2. Of extremely small merit. "This proposed new feature seems rather marginal to me."
3. Of extremely small probability of winning. "The power supply was rather marginal anyway; no wonder it fried."
[Jargon File]
(1994-10-21)

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