marginal
AdjectiveWordNet 3.0
Adjective (4)
- at or constituting a border or edge“the marginal strip of beach”Synonyms: fringy
- of questionable or minimal quality“borderline grades”“marginal writing ability”Synonyms: borderline
- just barely adequate or within a lower limit“a bare majority”“a marginal victory”Synonyms: bare(a)
- producing at a rate that barely covers production costs“marginal industries”
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
1.Of or pertaining to a margin. [1913 Webster]
2.Written or printed in the margin; as, a marginal note or gloss. [1913 Webster]
3.At the lower limit; barely sufficient; as, of marginal utility. [PJC] marginal cost
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
<jargon> 1. Extremely small. "A marginal increase in core can decrease GC time drastically." In everyday terms, this means that it is a lot easier to clean off your desk if you have a spare place to put some of the junk while you sort through it.
2.Of extremely small merit. "This proposed new feature seems rather marginal to me."
3.Of extremely small probability of winning. "The power supply was rather marginal anyway; no wonder it fried." [Jargon File]
(1994-10-21)
The Jargon File
1.[techspeak] An extremely small change. “A marginal increase in core can decrease GC time drastically.” In everyday terms, this means that it is a lot easier to clean off your desk if you have a spare place to put some of the junk while you sort through it.
2.Of little merit. “This proposed new feature seems rather marginal to me. ”
3.Of extremely small probability of winning. “The power supply was rather marginal anyway; no wonder it fried.”