Word
Of
The
Day
marginalia
marginalia \mahr-juh-NAY-lee-uh\
noun
Marginalia is a plural noun that refers to notes or other marks written in the
margins of a text, and also to nonessential matters or items.
// I loved flipping through my literature textbooks to find the
marginalia left behind by former students.
// She found the documentary's treatment of not only the major events but also the
marginalia of Scandinavian history fascinating.
See the entry >
Examples:
“
Marginalia have a long history:
Leonardo da Vinci famously scribbled thoughts about gravity years before
Galileo Galilei published his magnum opus on the subject; the discovery was waiting under our noses in the margins of Leonardo’s
Codex Arundel.” — Brianne Kane,
Scientific American, 19 Sept. 2025
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