pre-marginal
|pre-mar-gi-nal|
🇺🇸
/ˌpriːˈmɑrdʒɪnəl/
🇬🇧
/ˌpriːˈmɑːdʒɪnəl/
before the edge
Etymology
'pre-marginal' is a compound formed from the Latin prefix 'prae-' (via Old French/Latinized form 'pre-') meaning 'before' and the adjective 'marginal', from Latin 'margo' meaning 'edge'.
'prae-' developed into the English prefix 'pre-'; Latin 'margo' passed into Old French as 'marge' and Middle English as 'margin', giving rise to 'marginal' and later compounds such as 'pre-marginal'.
Originally the elements meant 'before' and 'edge' respectively; the compound has retained the basic sense of 'before the edge' and is used in specialised or descriptive contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
located immediately before the margin or edge; situated near but inside the border of a page, field, or area.
The editor placed several annotations in the pre-marginal area of the manuscript.
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Adjective 2
in linguistics/phonology, occurring immediately before a marginal (edge) element, such as a sound or morpheme at the boundary of a word or phrase.
In that dialect, devoicing is often pre-marginal before word-final consonants.
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Last updated: 2025/10/03 16:43