marginal

Forms

marginal (feminine marginale, masculine plural marginaux, feminine plural marginales)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin margō (“edge, margin”) (stem ⟨margin-⟩), a learned formation with the suffix -al.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary takes it from Medieval Latin marginālis.^[1] The same Latin word gave the inherited marge.^[1]

The FEW has a single 15th-century record, and the TLFi dates the word from before 1598;^[2][4][5][3] Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Robert dictionaries give the 15th century.^[2][4][5][3] The TLFi compares Old Occitan marginal “edge of a dike” (1400), which Rey gives as a French noun.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense was “written in the margin of a page”, as in annotations marginales in Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde (before 1598).^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

For a long time it kept only this sense, from which came the noun une marginale (1664).^[6] In natural history it meant “on the edge of something” from 1804.^[2][6][5]

It became a term of economics after the theory of marginal utility, worked out around 1871–1874 by three economists independently;^[6] English had marginal cost in 1887.^[6] Rey dates the French economic use to 1910, the TLFi to 1938, and the Petit Robert ties it to English margin.^[6][2][7]

The figurative sense “on the fringe, not conforming to the norms of a system” appeared about 1960 (Balandier), or in Le Monde in 1964 according to the TLFi.^[6][2][5] The noun un marginal, a person who lives on the fringes of society, is recorded in 1966 and spread after 1968.^[2][6] The derivatives marginalement (about 1965) and marginalité (1966) are recent.^[6][2]

Timeline

• 15th century – A single record, according to the FEW.^[2]
• before 1598 – Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde writes of annotations marginales.^[2][6]
• 1664 – Une marginale is used for a marginal note.^[6]
• 1804 – Philibert uses it in botany for “on the edge”.^[2][5]
• 1910 – First economic use, according to Rey.^[6]
• 1964 – Le Monde uses it for “not conforming to the norms”.^[2][5]
• 1966 – Un marginal “a dropout” appears in Le Nouvel Observateur.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Written in the margin of a page: notes marginales.^[7][2][8]
2. On the edge or border of something; in natural history, of parts on the edge of an organ, and in geography, of reefs along a coast.^[7][2][8][5]
3. (economics) Relating to the last additional unit of a quantity: coût marginal, the marginal cost.^[7]
4. Not central, secondary.^[7][1]
5. Living or standing outside the norms of a society or system, fringe.^[2][1]

Noun

1. A person who lives on the fringes of society, a dropout or misfit.^[2][1]

Word family

• marginalement
• marginaliser
• marginalité

Related words

• marge
• Latin margō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 s 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, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette