Monday’s Wordle at The York Times was our word. I thought not of the Caribbean dance but of my Catholic upbringing.
I’m a Unitarian-Universalist these days, but I fondly recall tormenting a poor priest with the question about “who changes all those diapers?” After all, Limbo in Catholic theology was a region of the afterlife were unbaptized infants went. I had asked lots of questions: where do they live? (on clouds) what do they eat? (no need), then, the diaper question (no food, no need for diapers).
The Church has, despite press reports decades back, has not canceled Limbo but in fact left the concept in…well, Limbo. It remains an unresolved theological theory. You can read about Limbo’s history here, and it includes links to the latest Vatican pronouncements.
As this is not a blog on theology, let’s get to the issue at hand: words that move around like they are dancing the Limbo. I thought the dance and the afterlife shared something. They both involve dangling between two states. In the dance, it’s between standing and falling. For floating babies, between our word and eternity.
Yet both terms have different origins! They are contranyms. For theology, our word comes from Latin limbus, edge or border (see our modern academic darling of a word, the overused “liminal”).
The dance may come from limber, to be flexible, of 16th century first recorded use but unknown origin. Mystery upon mystery today! The first recorded use of Limbo as a part of the afterlife is much older, from the 14th Century as the OED reports.
I danced the Limbo (rather well for pre-Yoga me) in my 30s at a nephew’s wedding reception. Even if you have not tried that, you must have felt stranded in Limbo on phone-holds and in waiting rooms.
Consider how common this week’s word is, then get up and shake your body, Senora. It’s what Harry Belafonte advises.
Image: Screencap by me from the film Beetelejuice, which has both Limbo the place and Limbo the dance. Jump in the line!