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limbo

noun
/ˈlɪmbəʊ/UK/ˈlɪmboʊ/US/ˈlɪmboː/

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō (“in limbo”) and e limbō (“out of limbo”)); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang limply or loosely”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). Doublet of limp. The verb is derived from the noun.

  1. derived from *leb-✻ — “to hang down loosely (?)”
  2. derived from *lemb-✻ — “to hang limply or loosely”
  3. derived from limbō
  4. inherited from limbo

Definitions

  1. A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of…

    A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the possible place where each category of souls might exist, regarded separately.

    • Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.
    • Oh vvhat a ſimpathie of vvoe is this, / As farre from helpe, as Lymbo is from bliſſe.
    • VVith all my hart, fare-vvell, far-vvell, / I am freed from Lymbo to be ſent to hell.

  2. Chiefly preceded by in

    Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.

    • My passport application has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo for two weeks.
    • It is hard to place thoſe ſoules in Hell vvhoſe vvorthy lives doe teach us vertue on earth; methinks amongſt thoſe many ſubdiviſions of hel, there might have been one Limbo left for theſe: […]
    • Proceeding further, I am met vvith a vvhole ging of vvords and phraſes not mine, for he hath maim'd them, and like a ſlye depraver mangl'd them in this his vvicked Limbo, vvorſe then the ghoſt of Deiphobus appear'd to his friend Æneas.

  3. Jail, prison

    Jail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup.

    • [O]n she went, / To find the Knight in Limbo pent: / And 'twas not long before she found / Him, and his stout Squire in the Pound; / Both coupled in Inchanted Tether, / By further Leg behind together: […]
  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. Synonym of Hades or Hell.

      • Nor quite of future Povv'r himſelf bereft, / But Limbo's large for Unbelievers left.

    2. Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a…

      Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”).

      • […] I let him have all my ready Mony to redeem his great Svvord from Limbo— […]

    3. A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.

    4. To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect…

      To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.

      • "If a fellow of ours isn't uncovered we may be limboed here till—" Till when? Till we were born again? I wished not to wonder just then. "Whenever."
      • An hour later, beside City Limits Road / I balanced, a gleaming can in each hand, / Limboed between worlds, repeating one dollar.

    5. A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to…

      A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards. The bar is lowered with each round, and the competition is won by the dancer who passes under the bar in the lowest position without dislodging it or falling down.

      • Every limbo boy and girl / All around the limbo world / Gonna do the limbo rock / All around the limbo clock / Jack be limbo, Jack be quick / Jack go under limbo stick / All around the limbo clock / Hey, let's do the limbo rock

    6. To dance the limbo (etymology 2, noun etymology 2, noun sense 1).

      • After each player goes under once, the bar is lowered about an inch. Players keep limboing under the limbo stick as it gets lower and lower. If you touch the stick with any part of your body, you're out. The last person left is the winner.

    7. Often followed by under

      Often followed by under: to pass under something, especially while bending backwards.

      • How low can you go? Technology stocks limboed lower and lower last week as investors danced to the profit-taking beat.
      • Ahn slept over on Friday night, and as soon as the parents were asleep, Dana and Ahn limboed under the criss-cross barriers into the secret chamber.
      • [T]he Private […] limboed to his seat [in a mini-submarine], thrusting his chest up and twisting to the right, one arm behind him, steadying himself on the chair as he slid in.

    8. Alternative letter-case form of limbo (“a type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval…

      Alternative letter-case form of limbo (“a type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels”).

The neighborhood

Derived

development limbo, limboer, limboid, limbolike, limbo set

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for limbo. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA