Limbo

[lim-boh] /ˈlɪm boʊ/

noun, plural limbos.
1.
(often initial capital letter) Roman Catholic Theology. a region on the border of hell or heaven, serving as the abode after death of unbaptized infants (limbo of infants) and of the righteous who died before the coming of Christ (limbo of the fathers or limbo of the patriarchs)
2.
a place or state of oblivion to which persons or things are regarded as being relegated when cast aside, forgotten, past, or out of date:
My youthful hopes are in the limbo of lost dreams.
3.
an intermediate, transitional, or midway state or place.
4.
a place or state of imprisonment or confinement.
[lim-boh] /ˈlɪm boʊ/
noun, plural limbos.
1.
a dance from the West Indies, originally for men only, in which the dancer bends backward from the knees and moves with a shuffling step under a horizontal bar that is lowered after each successive pass.
/ˈlɪmbəʊ/
noun (pl) -bos
1.
(often capital) (RC Church) the supposed abode of infants dying without baptism and the just who died before Christ
2.
an imaginary place for lost, forgotten, or unwanted persons or things
3.
an unknown intermediate place or condition between two extremes: in limbo
4.
a prison or confinement
/ˈlɪmbəʊ/
noun (pl) -bos
1.
a Caribbean dance in which dancers pass, while leaning backwards, under a bar
n.

“region supposed to exist on the border of Hell” reserved for pre-Christian saints (Limbus patrum) and unbaptized infants (Limbus infantum);” c.1300, from Latin limbo, ablative of limbus “edge, border” (see limb (2)). It emerged from Latin in the ablative form from frequent use in phrases such as in limbo (patrum), etc. Figurative sense of “condition of neglect or oblivion” is from 1640s.

dance in which the dancer bends backward and passes under a bar, 1956, of W.Indian origin, probably an alteration of limber.

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the afterlife, the condition of innocent persons who die without benefit of baptism; those in limbo do not suffer damnation, but they do not enjoy the presence of God. Limbo means “a bordering place.”

Note: Figuratively, “limbo” is a state of nonresolution or uncertainty: “Until he receives notice of his new posting, he’ll be in limbo.”

see: in limbo