GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
    Limbo (lĭmˈbṓ), Limbus (lĭmˈbŭs),  n. [L. limbus border, edge in limbo on the border.  Cf. Limb border.]
   1. (Scholastic Theol.) An spiritual region where certain classes of souls were supposed to await the last judgment.
   
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   As far from help as Limbo is from bliss. Shak.
   
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   A Limbo large and broad, since called
   
   The Paradise of fools. Milton.
   
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   ☞ The limbus patrum was considered as a place for the souls of good men who lived before the coming of our Savior. The limbus infantium was said to be a similar place for the souls of unbaptized infants.  To these was added, in the popular belief, the limbus fatuorum, or fool's paradise, regarded as a receptacle of all vanity and nonsense.
   
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   2. Hence: Any real or imaginary place of restraint or confinement; a prison; as, “to put a man in limbo”.
   
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   3. Hence: A state of waiting, or uncertainty, in which final judgment concerning the outcome of a decision is postponed, perhaps indefinitely; neglect for an indefinite time; as, “the proposal was left in limbo while opponents and proponents refused to compromise”.
   
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   4. (Anat.) A border or margin; as, “the limbus of the cornea”.
   
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2.       
   Limbo (lĭmˈbṓ), n. [Jamaican E. limba to bend, fr. E. limber (1950) MW10] A West Indian dance contest, in which participants must dance under a pole which is lowered successively until only one participant can successfully pass under, without falling. It is  often performed at celebrations, such as weddings.
   
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