Emarginating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of making a notch or cutout in an object involves creating an indentation or concavity that alters its shape
2. The act of forming a recess or cut into a material results in an edge modification characterized by a removal of material
3. To form a notch or inward cut along an edge, altering the object's outline

Etymology: "Emarginating" is the present participle of "emarginate," a verb built in Latin from "e-," meaning "out," and "marginare," meaning "to furnish with a margin." That second word comes from "margo," the Latin for "margin" or "edge." Put together, the original sense was roughly "to take out of the margin," which is to say, to cut or pare away an edge. The English verb keeps that edge-cutting core. To emarginate something is to nick or notch its rim, leaving a small inward curve or hollow where material has been removed. Botanists and zoologists still use the adjective "emarginate" for leaves, petals and shells whose tip has a shallow notch, so the Latin picture of trimming a border survives in precise technical description.