英文字典中文字典Word104.com

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Limbo \Lim"bo\ (l[i^]m"b[-o]), 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]


Limbo \Lim"bo\ (l[i^]m"b[-o]), Limbus \Lim"bus\ (l[i^]m"b[u^]s),
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.
[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]

Note: 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]

2. Hence: Any real or imaginary place of restraint or
confinement; a prison; as, to put a man in limbo.
[1913 Webster]

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.
[PJC]

4. (Anat.) A border or margin; as, the limbus of the cornea.
[1913 Webster]