Gloss · Words · Liminal

liminal

ˈlɪmɪnəladjective

What does liminal mean?

The in-between stage. Not where you were, not yet where you’re going.

Liminal, six ways

PlainThe in-between stage. Not where you were, not yet where you’re going.
ADHDA doorway moment. Not here. Not there. In between.
Gen ZThat weird in-between feeling. Empty mall at 3pm. Airport at 2am. You know the one.
MetaphorThe landing between two flights of stairs, where you are nowhere in particular.
FormalOccupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold; transitional.
Like I’m 5You know when you’re standing in the doorway and you’re not in the room and not in the hall? That’s liminal.

How to pronounce liminal

LIM-uh-nul/ˈlɪmɪnəl/

Liminal in a sentence

The weeks between jobs had a liminal feel.
An airport at 3 a.m. has a liminal strangeness.
Adolescence is a liminal stage between childhood and adulthood.

Synonyms for liminal

transitionalPlainer, without the strangeness.
in-betweenCasual; close.
thresholdThe place of crossing, as a noun.

Where liminal comes from

Latin. Limen, a threshold, the strip of stone under a door. Anthropologists took it up in 1909 for the middle of a rite of passage.

Good to know

Online, liminal spaces are empty in-between places: hallways, parking lots, malls after hours. Said of time, it is any threshold: the liminal year between school and work.

Liminal meaning, on a Gloss card: The in-between stage. Not where you were, not yet where you’re going.

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In: Words for time · Latin and Greek roots