margin

[mahr-jin] /ˈmɑr dʒɪn/
noun
1.
the space around the printed or written matter on a page.
2.
an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary:
to allow a margin for error.
3.
a limit in condition, capacity, etc., beyond or below which something ceases to exist, be desirable, or be possible:
the margin of endurance; the margin of sanity.
4.
a border or edge.
5.
Philately. selvage (def 3).
6.
Finance.
  1. security, as a percentage in money, deposited with a broker by a client as a provision against loss on transactions.
  2. the amount representing the customer's investment or equity in such an account.
7.
the difference between the amount of a loan and the market value of the collateral pledged as security for it.
8.
Commerce. the difference between the cost and the selling price.
9.
an amount or degree of difference:
The measure passed by a margin of just three votes.
10.
Economics. the point at which the return from economic activity barely covers the cost of production, and below which production is unprofitable.
11.
Entomology. the border of an insect's wing.
verb (used with object)
12.
to provide with a margin or border.
13.
to furnish with marginal notes, as a document.
14.
to enter in the margin, as of a book.
15.
Finance. to deposit a margin upon.
16.
Stock Exchange. to purchase (securities) on margin:
That stock was heavily margined during the last month.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < Latin margin- (stem of margō) border; akin to march2
Synonyms
3. confine, bound. 4. rim, verge, brink. See edge.
Antonyms
4. center.
Examples from the web for margin
  • The lateral border separates it from the groove which articulates with the margin of the head of the radius.
  • The proposed contract, which first looked as if it would be voted down, has so far been approved by a small margin.
  • The company did not calculate a margin of error for its findings.
  • At these elevations, plants grow slowly and their margin of survival is narrow.
  • The public media should know that every poll has a margin of error, and their reporting should reflect that.
  • The margin is the first position in the buffer that is visible on the display.
  • We suggest that she decrease the size of her bottom margin.
  • Whatever the source, the profit margin on a working computer is substantial.
  • It is my understanding that the profit margin for agricultural products is actually quite small.
  • But that's a smaller margin of defeat than a similar effort last month.
British Dictionary definitions for margin

margin

/ˈmɑːdʒɪn/
noun
1.
an edge or rim, and the area immediately adjacent to it; border
2.
the blank space surrounding the text on a page
3.
a vertical line on a page, esp one on the left-hand side, delineating this space
4.
an additional amount or one beyond the minimum necessary: a margin of error
5.
(mainly Austral) a payment made in addition to a basic wage, esp for special skill or responsibility
6.
a bound or limit
7.
the amount by which one thing differs from another: a large margin separated the parties
8.
(commerce) the profit on a transaction
9.
(economics) the minimum return below which an enterprise becomes unprofitable
10.
(finance)
  1. collateral deposited by a client with a broker as security
  2. the excess of the value of a loan's collateral over the value of the loan
verb (transitive)
11.
to provide with a margin; border
12.
(finance) to deposit a margin upon
Word Origin
C14: from Latin margō border; related to march², mark1
Word Origin and History for margin
n.

mid-14c., "edge of a sea or lake;" late 14c., "space between a block of text and the edge of a page," from Latin marginem (nominative margo) "edge, brink, border, margin," from PIE *merg- "edge, border, boundary" (see mark (n.1)). General sense of "boundary space; rim or edge of anything" is from late 14c. Meaning "comfort allowance, cushion" is from 1851; margin of safety first recorded 1888. Stock market sense of "sum deposited with a broker to cover risk of loss" is from 1848. Related: Margins.

v.

c.1600, "to furnish with marginal notes," from margin (n.). From 1715 as "to furnish with a margin."

margin in Medicine

margin mar·gin (mär'jĭn)
n.

  1. A border or edge, as of an organ.

  2. A limit in a condition or process, beyond or below which something is no longer possible or acceptable.

  3. An amount that is allowed but that is beyond what is needed.

  4. A measure, quantity, or degree of difference.