Limbo the Waiting Place and Limbo the Dance Are Unrelated
Limbo is an uncertain state of waiting. The Caribbean dance of the same name comes from a different word entirely.
Limbo is a state of uncertainty or waiting. The theological sense came first: Latin *limbus* means a border or edge, and medieval theology placed unbaptised souls on the edge of hell, neither punished nor admitted to heaven. The Caribbean dance under a lowering bar is a separate word, from a West Indian form of *limber*, meaning flexible. Two identical words, one from a Latin border and one from a body's suppleness.
- A state of waiting. *In legal limbo.*
- A theological border. *The limbo of infants.*
- A Caribbean dance. *Doing the limbo.*
- Limber — flexible, the dance's root. *Limber up.*
- Latin — *limbus*, an edge. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | limbo | In limbo. |
| Plural | limbos | Two limbos. |
| Dance | limbo | The limbo. |
| Related | limber | Limber. |
| Latin | limbus | An edge. |
- The application is in limbo.Waiting.
- Limbus means a border in Latin.Etymology.
- The dance comes from limber.Separate word.
Words for being stuck
- Limbo — waiting with no resolution in sight
- Stalemate — from chess, a deadlock with no move
- Impasse — a position from which there is no way forward
- Deadlock — neither side able to move
- Purgatory — theologically distinct, a place of temporary purification
Medieval Latin *in limbo*, on the edge, from *limbus*, a border. The dance name is from a West Indian variant of *limber*.
Is the limbo dance related to the theological limbo?
No. The dance takes its name from limber, meaning flexible. The two words are unconnected.
What was limbo in theology?
A border region of the afterlife for souls not admitted to heaven but not punished, including unbaptised infants.