limbo

lim·bo ¹  (lmb)

n. pl. lim·bos

1. often Limbo Roman Catholic Church The abode of unbaptized but innocent or righteous souls, as those of infants or virtuous individuals who lived before the coming of Christ.

2. A region or condition of oblivion or neglect: Management kept her promotion in limbo for months.

3. A state or place of confinement.

4. An intermediate place or state.

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[Middle English, from Medieval Latin (in) limb, (in) Limbo, ablative of limbus, Limbo, from Latin, border.]

Word History: Our use of the word limbo to refer to states of oblivion, confinement, or transition is derived from the theological sense of Limbo as a place where souls remain that cannot enter heaven, for example, unbaptized infants. Limbo in Roman Catholic theology is located on the border of Hell, which explains the name chosen for it. The Latin word limbus, having meanings such as "an ornamental border to a fringe" and "a band or girdle," was chosen by Christian theologians of the Middle Ages to denote this border region. English borrowed the word limbus directly, but the form that caught on in English, limbo, first recorded in a work composed around 1378, is from the ablative form of limbus, the form that would be used in expressions such as in limb, "in Limbo."

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lim·bo ²  (lmb)

n. pl. lim·bos

A West Indian dance in which the dancers keep bending over backward and passing under a pole that is lowered slightly each time.

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[Probably ultimately of African origin.]

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limbo ¹

Noun

pl -bos

1. (often cap) RC Church (formerly) the supposed region intermediate between heaven and hell for the unbaptized

2. in limbo not knowing the result or next stage of something and powerless to influence it [Medieval Latin in limbo on the border (of hell)]

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limbo ²

Noun

pl -bos a West Indian dance in which dancers lean backwards and pass under a horizontal bar which is gradually lowered [origin unknown]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	limbo - the state of being disregarded or forgotten oblivion obscurity - an obscure and unimportant standing; not well known; "he worked in obscurity for many years"
	2.	limbo - an imaginary place for lost or neglected things fictitious place, imaginary place, mythical place - a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings
	3.	limbo - (theology) in Roman Catholicism, the place of unbaptized but innocent or righteous souls (such as infants and virtuous individuals) fictitious place, imaginary place, mythical place - a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings theology, divinity - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth

Translations

limbo [ˈlɪmbəu] n to be in limbo (fig) → quedar a la expectativa

limbo [ˈlɪmbəu] n to be in limbo (fig) → être tombé(e) dans l'oubli

limbo [ˈlɪmbəu] n to be in limbo (fig) [plans etc] → in der Schwebe sein: [person] → in der Luft hängen (inf)

limbo [ˈlɪmbəu] n to be in limbo (fig) → essere lasciato/a nel dimenticatoio