Today’s word of the day is marginalia, M-A-R-G-I-N-A-L-I-A. Marginalia is a noun that means nonessential items.

You probably recognize the word margin, a word that, when used figuratively, may refer to a line that separates inclusion and exclusion from a group. Think of marginalia as the place someone or something winds up after being marginalized.

President Arthur was a figure of enormous importance. That’s why it pains me to see historians relegate his contributions to marginalia.

Once again, marginalia is spelled M-A-R-G-I-N-A-L-I-A.