margin

Etymology

From Middle English margyn, from Latin marginem (possibly via Old French margin), accusative of margō (“edge, brink, border, margin”). Doublet of marge and margo.

noun

1. (typography) The edge of the paper, typically left blank when printing but sometimes used for annotations etc.
2. The edge or border of any flat surface.
   Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins like a veteran army that had marched down to drink, only to be stricken motionless at the water’s edge. 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad
3. (figurative) The edge defining inclusion in or exclusion from a set or group.
   As far as space is concerned, Mary Lamb finds herself at the farthest margin of society - among tramps - when the novel begins. 1999, Pierre François, Inlets of the Soul: Contemporary Fiction in English and the Myth of the Fall, page 186
4. A difference or ratio between results, characteristics, scores.
   margin of victory
   Chelsea will point to that victory margin as confirmation of their superiority - but Spurs will complain their hopes of turning the game around were damaged fatally by Atkinson's decision. April 15, 2012, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC
   in Kentucky, for example, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by a nearly two-to-one margin March 9, 2017, James P. Pinkerton, “A Deus ex Machina for the Climate Change Problem”, in The American Conservative
5. A permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits.
   margin of error
6. (finance) The yield or profit; the selling price minus the cost of production.
7. (finance) Collateral security deposited with a broker, to compensate the broker in the event of loss in the speculative buying and selling of stocks, commodities, etc.
   The purchaser then hands over this margin to the person with whom he hypothecates the Stock. 1848, William Armstrong, Stocks and Stock-Jobbing in Wall-Street
   If you borrow from your broker via trading on margin, you need to add monthly margin interest charges to your trading costs as well. 2017, Joe Duarte, Trading Options For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, page 140
8. That which is ancillary; periphery.
   This model merely nips at the margins.

verb

1. (transitive) To add a margin to.
2. (transitive) To enter (notes etc.) into the margin.
3. (transitive, finance) To trade (securities etc.) on margin (collateral).
   This sounds easy, but bear in mind that margined portfolios decline faster than cash portfolios in a bear market. 2011, Richard Lehman, Lawrence G. McMillan, Options for Volatile Markets, John Wiley & Sons, page 90