Etymologically
Log in

limbo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 07:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈlɪmbəʊ/ (UK); /ˈlɪmboʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English limbo,[2][3] from the Medieval Latin phrase in limbō “on the border (of hell)”,[2][4][5] the ablative of Latin limbus (“edge, border”).[2][3][4][6] In such phrases the in was felt as English, so the Latin ablative became the English noun.[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A region on the border of hell, the abode of the just who died before Christ and of unbaptized infants (14th century; about 1378 in Barnhart).[7][4][6]

Semantic evolution

Medieval theologians chose the Latin word for “border” to name this region at the edge of hell.[2] By 1590 limbo was slang for prison or confinement,[7] and from 1642 it meant any condition of neglect or oblivion.[7][4][6] It also came to mean an intermediate state and, in Merriam-Webster, a state of uncertainty.[2][3] Wiktionary notes that limbo, though widely believed, was never official Church teaching.[1] The West Indian dance called the limbo (about 1950–1956) is a different word, probably from limber.[3][6][5][7]

Timeline

  • 14th century – the border region of hell in theology.[7][3]
  • 1590 – prison, confinement (slang).[7]
  • 1642 – a condition of neglect or oblivion.[7][4]
  • 1956 – the West Indian dance (a separate word).[7][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An intermediate or transitional place or state; a state of uncertainty.
  2. A place or state of neglect or oblivion.
  3. A place or state of confinement.
  4. (often capitalized) In Roman Catholic theology, the abode of souls barred from heaven though not condemned, such as unbaptized infants.
  5. A West Indian dance in which dancers bend backwards to pass under a bar that is lowered each time.
  • limbus
  • limber

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press