GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   { Limbo , Limbus , } n. [L. limbus border, edge in limbo on the border. Cf. Limb border.]
   (Scholastic Theol.) An spiritual region where certain classes of souls were supposed to await the last judgment.
   1913 Webster
   As far from help as Limbo is from bliss.
   Shak.
   
   1913 Webster
   A Limbo large and broad, since called
   The Paradise of fools.
   Milton.
   
   1913 Webster
   ☞ 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.
   1913 Webster
   Hence: Any real or imaginary place of restraint or confinement; a prison; as, to put a man in limbo.
   1913 Webster
   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.
   PJC
   (Anat.) A border or margin; as, the limbus of the cornea.
   1913 Webster
         
       

2.       
   Limbo , 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.
   PJC