Etymograph

English

liminal space

Liminal space comes from English liminal ‘of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold’.

  1. English1500–presentliminal‘of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2021liminal space

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentliminal‘of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2021liminal space

Earliest quotation: 2021, Elisabeth Vincentelli, Review: In 'Never Let Go,' a Solo Performer's Heart Goes On: “Michael Kinnan's sendup of "Titanic" explores the liminal space…”

A compound of liminal ‘of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold’ + space

Latin līmen ‘doorstep, threshold’

Latin līmināris ‘of or pertaining to the threshold or lintel’

English liminal

Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- ‘to stretch’

Latin spatium ‘space’

Old French espace ‘space’

Anglo-Norman space

Middle English space

English space

The story

From liminal (‘of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold’) + space, due to originally focusing on "in-between" spaces such as hallways and stairwells.

Every English word from English liminal

Today it means

noun A depiction of an empty or abandoned place, often made to appear unsettling, surreal, or nostalgic.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / English liminal / liminal space

Shirt and support for this word