liminal

Definition

Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold.

Etymology

From Latin limināris, from līmen (“doorstep, threshold; doorway, entrance; beginning, commencement”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Līmen is possibly derived from līmus (“askew; sideways”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bend, bow; elbow”)) + -men (suffix forming neuter nouns of the third declension) (from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ (suffix forming action nouns or result nouns from verbs)).

Example Sentences

• "[W]ith the utmost strictness, we excommunicate digamists, as bringing infamy upon the Paraclete by the irregularity of their discipline. The selfsame liminal limit we fix for adulterers also and fornicators; dooming them to pour forth tears barren of peace, and to regain from the church no ampler return than the publication of their disgrace."
• "There is a reminiscence, which comes and goes, of Mexican words, of Mexican turns of speech and puns. It is a murmur that wanders in the liminal part of his soul, but the writer [Ramón del Valle-Inclán] lets it be felt with full consciousness of what he is doing."
• "[S]paces such as the threshold of a door are "liminal," lying between otherwise defined areas without belonging to either of them. All over the world, […] liminal situations are associated with demons."

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