limbus

¹ American  

[lim-buhs] / ˈlɪm bəs /

noun

plural

limbi

1. limbo.

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limbus ² American  

[lim-buhs] / ˈlɪm bəs /

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

plural

limbi

1. a border, edge, or limb.

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limbus British  

/ ˈlɪmbəs /

noun

1. anatomy the edge or border of any of various structures or parts

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Other Word Forms

• limbic adjective

Etymology

Origin of limbus¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin; Latin: limbus ²

Origin of limbus²

1665–75; < New Latin, Latin

Example Sentences

Both took stem cells from the limbus, the circular area of the eye that surrounds the cornea.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some by hell understand the place of the damned, some limbus partum, others the wrath of God, others the grave.

From An Apology for Atheism Addressed to Religious Investigators of Every Denomination by One of Its Apostles by Southwell, Charles

We may well reciprocate his suggestion, and say that such doctrines belong to the limbus fatuorum, and, if enjoyed as Mr. Ward enjoys them, they may well be called the “fool’s paradise.”

From Buchanan's Journal of Man, June 1887 Volume 1, Number 6 by Buchanan, Joseph R. (Joseph Rodes)

Maeterlinck sets us figures in the foreground only to launch us into that limbus.

From Ancient Art and Ritual by Harrison, Jane Ellen

Limbo is the ablative of Lat. limbus, an edge, hem, in the phrase "in limbo patrum," where limbus is used for the abode of the Old Testament saints on the verge of Hades.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest