marge

Forms

marge f (plural marges)^[1] Old French marce (13th century) and marge.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin margō (“edge, border”) (accusative marginem).^[2][4][5][1] Bloch and Wartburg point out that the regular outcome of the accusative would have been an unattested *marne; the Latin word was of both genders, hence some hesitation about the gender of the French word.^[6] Rey connects the Latin word with a stem meaning “sign” that also gave the Germanic word for a border.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan marge, Catalan marge, Spanish margen and Italian margine.^[7] English margin comes from Old French and directly from the Latin word.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1225 in the Miserere of the Reclus de Molliens, figuratively, meaning “edge, border”: nostre vie est pres de marge.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “edge, border” became rare from the 17th century, despite a revival in the 19th, while the sense “blank space round a written text” (13th century, marce du calendrier) spread after the 16th century and became a printing term.^[5][2]

The abstract sense “time or room to spare” came through avoir de la marge (Marivaux, 1747) and is recorded on its own in 1790;^[2][5] laisser de la marge is from 1835.^[2][5] Vivre en marge de is first found in Balzac (1831),^[2][5] and commerce took up marge bénéficiaire “profit margin”.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – Marge “edge” in the Miserere of the Reclus de Molliens.^[2]
• 13th century – Marce is used of the blank margin of a calendar.^[2][7]
• 1521 – Marge for the margin of a written page.^[2][3]
• 1611 – The derivative émarger is recorded.^[6][5]
• 1747 – Marivaux writes avoir de la marge.^[2]
• 1790 – It means “room for manoeuvre, latitude” in Le Moniteur.^[2]
• 1831 – Balzac writes vivre en marge de.^[2]
• 1945 – Marge bénéficiaire is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The blank margin round a written or printed text, especially the left-hand one: des remarques en marge de la copie.^[9][10][3]
2. Room, time or quantity to spare, latitude: marge de sécurité, marge d'erreur, marge de manœuvre.^[10][9][1]
3. (commerce) The difference between cost price and selling price, markup: marge bénéficiaire.^[2][1]
4. En marge de: on the fringe of, outside: vivre en marge de la société.^[2][1]
5. (dated) An edge or border.^[2][5]

Word family

• marger
• émarger
• margeur

Related words

• margelle
• marginal
• Latin margō
• English margin

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 333b
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)