English

Adjective

liminal ‎(comparative more liminal, superlative most liminal)

1. Of or pertaining to a threshold or entrance.
2. Of or pertaining to a beginning or first stage of a process; inceptive; inchoative; marginal.

Quotations

• 1888, James Sully, Outlines of psychology, p. 114:

  Every stimulus must reach a certain intensity before any appreciable sensation results. This point is known as the threshold or liminal intensity.

• 1999, Sarah Iles Johnston, Restless Dead, p. 209:

  Second, spaces such as the threshold of a door are “liminal,” lying between otherwise defined areas without belonging to either of them.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

• liminal in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• Millian