|səb+ adjective
Etymology: sub- + marginal
1. : situated near a boundary : adjacent to a marginal part or structure
a submarginal cell in an insect wing
2.
a. : less than marginal : falling below the minimum necessary for some end (as the obtaining of an economic return or the living of a normal life)
attempting to crop submarginal hill farms
the children in the one fourth of our nation that subsist on submarginal levels — Leon Eisenberg
a submarginal diet
b. : dealing with or dependent upon something (as a way of life) that is submarginal
submarginal farmers
• sub·marginally “+ adverb