Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - margin

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ~-, margo border — more at mark  Date: 14th century  1. the part of a page or sheet outside the main body of printed or written matter  2. the outside limit and adjoining surface of something ; edge at the ~ of the woods continental ~  3.  a. a spare amount or measure or degree allowed or given for contingencies or special situations left no ~ for error  b.  (1) a bare minimum below which or an extreme limit beyond which something becomes impossible or is no longer desirable on the ~ of good taste  (2) the limit below which economic activity cannot be continued under normal conditions  c. an area, state, or condition excluded from or existing outside the mainstream the ~s of critical discourse — Barbara L. Packer living in society's ~s  4.  a. the difference which exists between net sales and the cost of merchandise sold and from which expenses are usually met or profit derived  b. the excess market value of collateral over the face of a loan  c.  (1) cash or collateral that is deposited by a client with a commodity or securities broker to protect the broker from loss on a contract  (2) the client's equity in securities bought with the aid of credit obtained specifically (as from a broker) for that purpose  d. a range about a specified figure within which a purchase is to be made  5. measure or degree of difference the bill passed by a one-vote ~  • ~ed adjective  II. transitive verb  Date: 1715  1.  a. to provide with an edging or border  b. to form a ~ to ; border  2.  a. to add ~ to ~ up an account  b.  (1) to use as ~ ~ bonds to buy stock  (2) to provide ~ for ~ a transaction  c. to buy (securities) on ~