margin English · revision 6768

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=mid-14th century|origins=la margo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɑː.d͡ʒɪn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɑɹ.d͡ʒɪn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English margine, [[bor|la|margo|t=edge, brink, border]] (genitive marginis),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) partly through [[m|fro|margin]],^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*merǵ-|alt=*merg-|t=boundary, border]], and related to [[mark]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The edge of a sea or lake: the mid-14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) probably before 1350 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first sense, the part of a surface just within its boundary, is from 1382.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The blank space around the text of a written or printed page is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) A margin of comfort or allowance, scope for action, is by 1851,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''margin of error'' by 1889.^(Etymonline) In finance, money deposited with a broker to cover the risk of loss is from 1848,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in economics the difference between cost and selling price, a profit margin, is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The verb, to write notes in a margin, is from about 1600 (1607 in Barnhart), and to furnish with a margin from 1715.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[marginal|alt=Marginal]] meant written in the margin in 1576 and of minor importance from 1887.^(Barnhart 1988) The archaic form margent survives in poetry.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-14th century – the edge of a sea or lake.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – the margin of a page.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1607 – to write in the margin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1848 – a deposit with a broker.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1851 – an allowance or cushion.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – margin of error.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An edge or border and the area just inside it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The blank space around the text on a page.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An amount by which something is won or exceeds another: ''won by a narrow margin''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An extra amount allowed for safety or error.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(economics)'' The difference between cost and selling price; [[profit]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(finance)'' Money deposited with a [[broker]] to cover possible losses.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with a margin or border.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[margined]]

+ * [[remargin]]

+ * [[margin of safety]]

+ * [[margin call]]

+ * [[margin account]]

+ * [[profit margin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[marginal]]

+ * [[marginalia]]

+ * [[marginalize]]

+ * [[mark]]

+ * [[march]]

+ * [[margent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}