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limited

[lim-i-tid]
adjective
  1. confined within limits; restricted or circumscribed: a limited space; limited resources.
  2. Government. restricted with reference to governing powers by limitations prescribed in laws and in a constitution, as in limited monarchy; limited government.
  3. characterized by an inability to think imaginatively or independently; lacking originality or scope; narrow: a rather limited intelligence.
  4. Chiefly British.
    1. responsible for the debts of a company only to a specified amount proportionate to the percentage of stock held.
    2. (of a business firm) owned by stockholders, each having a restricted liability for the company's debts.
    3. (usually initial capital letter)incorporated; Inc. Abbreviation: Ltd.
  5. (of railroad trains, buses, etc.) making only a limited number of stops en route.
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noun
  1. a limited train, bus, etc.
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Origin of limited

First recorded in 1545–55; limit + -ed2
Related formslim·it·ed·ly, adverblim·it·ed·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for limitedly

Historical Examples of limitedly

  • Banjos and fiddles (violins) were owned only limitedly by antebellum Negroes.

    Negro Folk Rhymes

    Thomas W. Talley

  • The balm of sympathy comes to him limitedly; humanity is as cold as the frozen streams of his winter's retreat.

    The Lumberjack Sky Pilot

    Thomas D. Whittles

British Dictionary definitions for limitedly

limited

adjective
  1. having a limit; restricted; confined
  2. without fullness or scope; narrow
  3. (of governing powers, sovereignty, etc) restricted or checked, by or as if by a constitution, laws, or an assemblylimited government
  4. US and Canadian (of a train) stopping only at certain stations and having only a set number of cars for passengers
  5. mainly British (of a business enterprise) owned by shareholders whose liability for the enterprise's debts is restricted
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noun
  1. US and Canadian a limited train, bus, etc
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Derived Formslimitedly, adverblimitedness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for limitedly

limited

adj.

1550s, past participle adjective from limit (v.); as a stand-alone for limited express train, by 1883. Limited edition is from 1920; limited monarchy from 1640s; limited war is from 1948. In British company names, Limited (abbrev. Ltd.), 1855, is short for limited liability company, one in which the liability of partners is limited, usually to the amount of their capital investment.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper