Wiktionary:Word of the day/2023/May 18

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limbo n

(Roman Catholicism, uncountable) The place, thought to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the place where each category of souls exists, regarded separately. (by extension) (countable, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status. (slang, archaic, uncountable) Jail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup. (uncountable, obsolete) Synonym of Hades or Hell (uncountable, obsolete) Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”) (countable, military, nautical, weaponry) A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels. limbo v (transitive, rare) To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status. [...]

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