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English

limbo

/ˈlɪmbəʊ/ · noun

Meaning

  1. (Roman Catholic theology, since circa 400 A.D.) The place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, notably those of the saints who died before the advent of Christ (limbus patruum) and those of unbaptized but innocent children (limbus infantum).
  2. (by extension, since the 16th century) Any in-between place, state or condition of neglect or oblivion which results in an unresolved status, delay or deadlock.
  3. A dance played by taking turns crossing under a horizontal bar or stick. The stick is lowered with each round, and the game is won by the player who passes under the bar in the lowest position.
  4. To dance in this way.

Etymology / origin

No prose etymology has been added yet.

No ancestor words have been linked yet.

Related words

Descendant words

No descendant words have been linked yet.

Sources

  1. DictionaryAPI.dev English dictionary data
limbo — meaning and etymology | WikiWord