There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.
MARGINAL
fringy, marginal
(adjective) at or constituting a border or edge; “the marginal strip of beach”
borderline, marginal
(adjective) of questionable or minimal quality; “borderline grades”; “marginal writing ability”
marginal
(adjective) producing at a rate that barely covers production costs; “marginal industries”
marginal, bare(a)
(adjective) just barely adequate or within a lower limit; “a bare majority”; “a marginal victory”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
marginal (not generally comparable, comparative more marginal, superlative most marginal)
(uncomparable) Of, relating to, or located at or near a margin or edge; also figurative usages of location and margin (edge).
(geography) Sharing a border; geographically adjacent.
(comparable) Determined by a small margin; having a salient characteristic determined by a small margin.
Of a value, or having a characteristic that is of a value, that is close to being unacceptable or leading to exclusion from a group or category.
(of land) Barely productive.
(politics, chiefly, UK, Australia, NZ, of a constituency) Subject to a change in sitting member with only a small change in voting behaviour, this usually being inferred from the small winning margin of the previous election.
(economics, uncomparable) Pertaining to changes resulting from a unit increase in production or consumption of a good.
Noun
marginal (plural marginals)
Something that is marginal.
(politics) A constituency won with a small margin.
Anagrams
• alarming
Source: Wiktionary
Mar"gin*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. marginal.]
1. Of or pertaining to a margin.
2. Written or printed in the margin; as, a marginal note or gloss.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
15 March 2025
TRUNCATION
(noun) the replacement of an edge or solid angle (as in cutting a gemstone) by a plane (especially by a plane that is equally inclined to the adjacent faces)
Coffee Trivia
