liminal
li·min·al/ˈlɪmən(ə)l/adjective
liminal is spelled L-I-M-I-N-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables (li·min·al). It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 71,529th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, liminal means “Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in liminal?
| Letters | 7: L-I-M-I-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: li·min·al |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 71,529th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is liminal?
Liminal appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 71,529th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce liminal?
- /ˈlɪmən(ə)l/
Liminal has 3 syllables, split li·min·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-liminal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of liminal
- more liminal comparative
- most liminal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does liminal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold.
- 2
Pertaining to or in a state that is in-between or transitional between two (or more) other states, while belonging to neither; pertaining to or in a state such as to be neither definitively in a particular other state or category nor definitively outside it.
- 3
Of or pertaining to a beginning or first stage of a process.
- 4
informalOf an empty environment that evokes a surreal blend of nostalgia, comfort, and unease; see liminal space.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Liminal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to an entrance or threshold:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does liminal come from?
From Latin līmināris, 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)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).