Margin

Margin

Noun / Verb · /ˈmɑː.dʒɪn/

Definition

(Noun) the edge or border of something; the blank space around the text on a page; a difference in votes or scores; financial profit after costs are deducted; the permitted or available extent; to exceed the safe margin; (Verb) to provide with a margin; to annotate in the margin.

Origin

From Latin margo (edge, border, margin), from Proto-Indo-European *merg- (edge, border). The same root gives mark (a border territory), march (a border region), and demarcation. The financial sense — profit margin — developed from the edge or surplus meaning: the margin being what is left at the edge after costs are covered.