I. ˈlim(ˌ)bō noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin, abl. of limbus limbo, from Latin, border — more at limp
1. often capitalized : a region believed to exist on the border of hell as the abode of souls barred from heaven through no fault of their own (as the souls of just men who died before the coming of Christ or the souls of unbaptized infants)
2.
a. : a place or state of restraint or confinement
trapping travelers in an airless limbo — Sam Boal
trapped by its own sense of inadequacy in a limbo of boredom — William Murray
b. : a place or state of neglect or oblivion
the limbo of forgotten things
vanished into the limbo of profitless products — S.H.Adams
disappeared into the limbo of lost ships — E.L.Beach
c. : an intermediate or transitional place or state : a middle ground
the infinitely complex pattern of business practices which occupies the limbo between competition and monopoly — S.M.Fine
half-man, half-child, and yet neither, the adolescent occupies a special human limbo — New Republic
II. ˈlim(ˌ)bō noun
( -s )
Etymology: English or English Creole of Trinidad & Barbados; akin to Jamaican English limba to bend (from English limber (III))
: a dance or contest that involves bending over backward and passing under a horizontal pole which is lowered slightly for each successive pass