limite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /li.mit/^[1]

Forms

limite f (plural limites)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin līmes (“path bordering a property; boundary, frontier”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun has no known etymology; it is tentatively compared with līmen (“threshold”).^[3] Littré connected it with līmus (“oblique”).^[6] The verb limiter (1311) and the noun limitation (1322) come from the related Latin words.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a Neuchâtel document of 1372 it names what bounds a piece of land or a territory, the line between neighbouring properties.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Rare before the 16th century, the word was mostly masculine, like its Latin source, until the 17th century (1513, Lemaire de Belges, Montaigne's La vaillance a ses limites, lesquels franchis...).^[3][2][6] Robert Estienne uses it figuratively in 1539 (limites de son debvoir).^[2]

In mathematics the Encyclopédie (1765) defines it as a magnitude that another can approach indefinitely without ever reaching it; from this come the common phrases à la limite and cas limite.^[2][3] It became a technical term in mechanics (limite d'élasticité) and in sport (1924, boxing).^[3] In apposition it means extreme, ultimate (date limite, vitesse limite), and in colloquial use limite as an adjective means borderline, almost unacceptable.^[7][1]

Timeline

• 1372 – A boundary of land.^[2]
• 1513 – Masculine, in Lemaire de Belges.^[2][8]
• 1539 – Figurative use in Estienne.^[2]
• 1580 – Montaigne: La vaillance a ses limites.^[2]
• 1765 – The mathematical limit, in the Encyclopédie.^[2]
• 1844 – Limite de densité in mechanics.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A line separating two lands or territories; a boundary, border: les limites d'un terrain.^[7][1]
2. The extreme point or end of something in space or time: dans les limites de.^[7][2]
3. (figurative) A point beyond which something cannot go; a limit: connaître ses limites, sans limites.^[7][1]
4. (mathematics) A value approached indefinitely by a variable.^[2][7]
5. À la limite: at a pinch, if need be.^[3][7]
6. (in apposition) Extreme, maximum: date limite, cas limite.^[7][3]

Adjective

1. (colloquial) Borderline, close to being unacceptable.^[1]

Word family

• limitatif

Related words

• limiter
• Latin līmes

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 344a
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert