Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

marginal

/ˈmɑː.d͡ʒɪ.nəl/ adjective

Latin root: marginālis Wiktionary

adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about marginal at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

At or constituting a border or edge.
the marginal strip of beach
Of questionable or minimal quality.
borderline grades
Just barely adequate or within a lower limit.
a bare majority

Origin

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin marginālis, equivalent to margin + -al.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word