marginal en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɑɹ.d͡ʒɪ.nəl/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈmɑː.d͡ʒɪ.nəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- audio Queensland
- /ˈmɐː.d͡ʒɪ.nəl/ (Australia)
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin marginālis, equivalent to margin + -al.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable, usually) Of, relating to, or located at or near a margin or edge; also figurative usages of location and margin (edge).
The marginal area at the edge of the salt-marsh has its own plants.
In recent years there has been an increase in violence against marginal groups.
-
(not-comparable, usually) Of, relating to, or located at or near a margin or edge; also figurative usages of location and margin (edge). ▸ Written in the margin of a book.
There were more marginal notes than text.
The early pages had marginal notes most of which were lost when rats nibbled away the manuscript edges.
1999, R. I. Page, Introduction to English Runes, Boydell Press, page 198:
-
(not-comparable, usually) Of, relating to, or located at or near a margin or edge; also figurative usages of location and margin (edge). ▸ Sharing a border; geographically adjacent.
Monmouthshire is a Welsh county marginal to England.
-
(comparable, not-comparable, usually) Determined by a small margin; having a salient characteristic determined by a small margin. ▸ Of a value, or having a characteristic that is of a value, that is close to being unacceptable or leading to exclusion from a group or category.
The pilots lacked experience flying in marginal weather conditions.
Having reviewed the test, there are two students below the required standard and three more who are marginal.
His writing ability was marginal at best.
-
(comparable, not-comparable, of land, usually) Determined by a small margin; having a salient characteristic determined by a small margin. ▸ Barely productive.
He farmed his marginal land with difficulty.
-
(Australia, New-Zealand, UK, comparable, not-comparable, of a constituency, usually) Determined by a small margin; having a salient characteristic determined by a small margin. ▸ Subject to a change in sitting member with only a small change in voting behaviour, this usually being inferred from the small winning margin of the previous election.
The pendulum lists the seats from least marginal to most marginal for the government on one side, and least marginal to most marginal for the opposition on the other side.
2010, Nick Economou, Zareh Ghazarian, Australian Politics For Dummies, unnumbered page:He justified his comment by noting that the Labour Party had quickly committed to delivering a high-speed Leeds-Manchester line, and argued that pressure would grow on the Government because there were several marginal parliamentary seats around Leeds and Bradford.
2021 December 1, “Network News: Integrated Rail Plan: Osborne predicts HS2 eastern leg will return”, in RAIL, number 945, page 8:In ‘battleground’ seats with the Conservatives, Liberal Democrat vote shares increased most in the most marginal seats.
2002, Andrew Geddes, Jonathan Tonge, Labour′s Second Landslide: The British General Election 2001, page 79:In Bristol West, Labour had a majority of only 1,000, so the seat is considered highly marginal this time around.
In Outer London, Harrow East is now a more marginal Labour hold than Harrow West.
2007, Robert Waller, Byron Criddle, The Almanac of British Politics, page 58:
- (not-comparable, usually) Pertaining to changes resulting from a unit increase in production or consumption of a good.
-
(not-comparable, usually) Marginalized.
The caseworker couldn't understand how I could have stretched out my last bit of money for so long. She seemed convinced that I was "hiding" income from her and interrogated me for I don't know how long. […] The system seems based on the assumption that people are "welfare cheats." If you don't speak English or are marginal in some other way, it's worse.
1990 February 4, Margy Dowzer, Mary Frances Platt, Aviva Shmuckler, “Disability And Accessibility Cost Money!”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 13:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most marginal | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more marginal | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
extramarginal · marginalize · submarginal · bimarginal · marginalness · marginalistic · marginal wharf · marginal note · interiomarginal · ectomarginal · perimarginal · inferomarginal · frontomarginal · marginal utility · marginalism · epimarginal · nonmarginal · intermarginal · marginalise · marginal sea · marginal farmer · marginally · marginal credit · cingulomarginal · inframarginal · marginality · marginal benefit · marginalization · marginal analysis · marginal distribution · postmarginal · intramarginal · supramarginal · circummarginal · marginalist · supermarginal · endomarginal · callosomarginal · comarginal · multimarginal · unmarginal · dorsomarginal · admarginal · marginal cost · transmarginal · ice-marginal
Relateds
Translations (42)
pt adjacente (geographically adjacent) · hy լուսանցքային (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · es adyacente (geographically adjacent) · uk маргіна́льний (written in the margin of a book) · es baldío (of land that is barely productive) · fr marginal (written in the margin of a book) · pt fronteiriço (geographically adjacent) · fr médiocre (at the lower extent of a standard) · fi marginaalinen (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · pt periférico (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · cmn 边际的 (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · fi vaa’ankieli- (where the winning margin was a small proportion of the total number of votes) · fr périphérique (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · fi raja- (economics: pertaining to unit changes) · es fronterizo (geographically adjacent) · ja 辺境の (geographically adjacent) · ca marginal (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · es inferior (at the lower extent of a standard) · pt marginal (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · ja 隅の (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · ja 辺境の (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · ja 隅の (written in the margin of a book) · fr voisin (geographically adjacent) · gl marxinal (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · uk маргіна́льний (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · ja ぎりぎりの (at the lower extent of a standard) · sv marginell (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · fi rajoittuva (geographically adjacent) · cmn 边缘的 (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · es marginal (written in the margin of a book) · es marginal (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · fr marginal (of, relating to, or located at a margin or an edge) · fr limitrophe (geographically adjacent) · fi välttävä (at the lower extent of a standard) · fi huonotuottoinen (of land that is barely productive) · hy լուսանցքային (written in the margin of a book) · cmn 边境的 (geographically adjacent) · cmn 边界的 (geographically adjacent) · bg написан на полето (written in the margin of a book) · fi reuna- (written in the margin of a book) · fr adjacent (geographically adjacent) · fr pauvre (of land that is barely productive)