limbo English · revision 2430

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɪmbəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlɪmboʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|limbo]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) from the Medieval Latin phrase ''in limbō'' “on the border (of hell)”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) the ablative of [[la|limbus|t=edge, border]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) In such phrases the ''in'' was felt as English, so the Latin ablative became the English noun.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Medieval theologians chose the Latin word for “border” to name this region at the edge of hell.^(AHD) By 1590 ''limbo'' was slang for prison or confinement,^(OED 1989) and from 1642 it meant any condition of neglect or oblivion.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It also came to mean an intermediate state and, in Merriam-Webster, a state of uncertainty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) Wiktionary notes that limbo, though widely believed, was never official Church teaching.^(Wiktionary) The West Indian dance called the limbo (about 1950–1956) is a different word, probably from ''limber''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – the border region of hell in theology.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1590 – prison, confinement (slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1642 – a condition of neglect or oblivion.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1956 – the West Indian dance (a separate word).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An intermediate or transitional place or state; a state of uncertainty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A place or state of neglect or oblivion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A place or state of confinement.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' In Roman Catholic theology, the abode of souls barred from heaven though not condemned, such as unbaptized infants.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A West Indian dance in which dancers bend backwards to pass under a bar that is lowered each time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[limbus]]

+ * [[limber]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}