liminal
adjective

- of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold: barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response

- of or relating to an intermediate state, phase, or condition—transitional

- between two different states, places, etc.; occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold

- relating to a threshold; in the process of, or describing, an intermediate stage, especially in transitioning from one state to another


Merriam-Webster, Oxford Learners Dictionary, Wiktionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "liminal" traces its roots to Latin līmen (plural limina), meaning "threshold," "doorstep," or "sill"—the literal boundary between one space and another, like the frame of a door separating inside from out.

This noun dates back to at least the 1st century BCE in classical Latin texts, possibly deriving from an earlier Indo-European root related to crossing or boundaries.

By the late 19th century, English borrowed it directly as an adjective used in a technical sense, from experimental psychology, emphasized liminal as "just above or below the threshold of consciousness."

The term gained broader traction in anthropology through Arnold van Gennep's 1909 book Les Rites de Passage, where he used "liminal" (coined as liminalité in French) for the ambiguous middle phase of rituals—when initiates are betwixt and between old and new identities.

Victor Turner expanded this in the 1960s, applying it to social structures and cultural transitions. By the 21st century, "liminal" had evolved into everyday use for eerie "in-between" spaces (like empty malls at night), exploding in popularity online during the 2020 pandemic to describe transitional, disorienting states.

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BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

We cross many thresholds every day without thinking about it. There are everyday moments—waking up from sleep, passing through a doorway, walking from home into the open air, starting something new, or simply waiting for a decision—where nothing much seems to be happening, yet everything depends on what’s about to unfold. These are the “liminal” times or places that exist between the known and the unknown—where new possibilities quietly emerge.

Helga & Paul Smith

- “In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between them, there are doors.” (William Blake)

- “Liminality is essentially and always a middle. It is the moment of in-between-ness where what has been is gone, but what will be has not yet arrived.“ (Nicole Conner)

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SYNONYMS

at the brink, at the crossroads, at the cusp, at the edge, at the turning point, betwixt, borderline, bordering, changeover, changing, crossing point, fringe, in the gap, in transition, in-between, intermediate, interstitial, interim, LIMINAL, middle ground, nascent, no-man's-land, numinous, on the brink, on the cusp, on the verge, open doorway, teetering edge, threshold, transitional,  twilight, twilight zone, verge

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“A LIMINAL space is the threshold between one way of being and another. That's where the magic happens.”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D