limbus

English

Etymology

From Middle English limbus, from Latin limbus (“edge, border”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪmbəs

Noun

limbus (plural limbuses or limbi)

1. (medicine, biology) A border of an anatomical part, such as the edge of the cornea.

Derived terms

• limbal
• limbal ring

Related terms

• limbate

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Czech

Noun

limbus m

1. limbo (place for innocent souls)

   Synonym: předpeklí

Further reading

• limbus in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• limbus in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• limbus in Internetová jazyková příručka

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Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly:

• from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”), the same tentative root as Sanskrit लम्बते (lambate, “hangs down”) and English limp, a nasal-infixed form of *leb-;
• or from Proto-Indo-European *len-, whence Lithuanian linta (“ribbon”) and Old Norse linnr (“whether”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈlim.bus/, [ˈlʲɪmbʊs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈlim.bus/, [ˈlimbus]

Noun

limbus m (genitive limbī); second declension

1. A border, edge
2. hem, fringe, tassel

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	limbus	limbī
Genitive	limbī	limbōrum
Dative	limbō	limbīs
Accusative	limbum	limbōs
Ablative	limbō	limbīs
Vocative	limbe	limbī

Derived terms

• limbātus

Descendants

Descendants of limbus in other languages

• Catalan: llimbs, limbe
• English: limbus, limbo, limbic
• French: limbe, limbique
• German: Limbus

• Italian: lembo
• Portuguese: limbo
• Russian: лимб (limb)
• Spanish: limbo

References

Further reading

• “limbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “limbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• limbus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• limbus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• “limbus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• limbus in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “limbus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• lymbus, Limbus

Etymology

From Latin limbus; compare lymbo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlimbus/

Noun

limbus

1. (Late Middle English, rare) limbo (waiting place for souls)

   Synonym: lymbo

Descendants

• English: limbus
• Scots: lymbus (obsolete)

References

• “limbus, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.