noun · neuterthird declension
līmen
līmen n (genitive līminis)
Classical[ˈliː.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[ˈliː.men]
№ 516 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- threshold, doorstep, sill (bottom-most part of a doorway)
Erit tantī crīminis illa memor, et tē circum omnīs aliās īrāta puellās differet heu nūllō līmine cārus eris.
She will remember such crimes, and fiercely denounce you to all the other girls: alas, you’ll be loved on no threshold.30 BCE – 16 BCE, Propertius, Elegiae - lintel
- threshold, entrance, doorway, approach; door
- house, home, abode, dwelling
- beginning, commencement
- end, termination
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quod sub iānuā iacet.līmen -inis n — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
initium; iānuae pars īmalīmen -inis (n) — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 12
initium, iānualīmen -inis (n) — in IVLIANVS III: Persia, ch. 5
pars īnfima ōstiīlīmen -inis (n) — in Epistulae, ch. 10
pars īnfima portaelīmen -inis (n) — in Aeneis, ch. 5
threshold
līmen -inis (n) — in De Bello Gallico III
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | līmen | līmina |
| genitive | līminis | līminum |
| dative | līminī | līminibus |
| accusative | līmen | līmina |
| ablative | līmine | līminibus |
| vocative | līmen | līmina |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- pedem limine efferre
- to cross the threshold.
līmen, ĭnis, n. Gr. λέχρις, λοξός; Lat. obliquus, līmus; hence prop. a cross-piece,
I. a threshold; the head-piece or foot-piece of a doorway, the lintel or the sill (limen superum et inferum).
I. Lit.:
limen superum inferumque, salve, Plaut. Merc. 5, 1, 1: limen superum, quod mihi misero saepe confregit caput: Inferum autem, ubi ego omnis digitos defregi meos, Novius ap. Non. 336, 14: sensim super attolle limen pedes, nova nupta, Plaut. Cas. 4, 4, 1: imponere foribus, Plin. 36, 14, 21, § 96: ad limen consulis adesse, Liv. 2, 48: curiae, id. 3, 41: primo limine, at the outer threshold, Juv. 1, 96.—Plur. (poet.): haec limina, intra quae puer est, Juv. 14, 45; 220.—The moment of touching the threshold was regarded as ominous: ter limen tetigi, Ov. Tr. 1, 3, 55.—Prov.: salutare a limine, to greet in passing, i. e. to touch upon slightly, not go deeply into, Sen. Ep. 49, 6.—B. Transf.
1. A door, entrance:
ubi hanc ego tetulero intra limen, Plaut. Cist. 3, 19: intrare intra limen, id. Men. 2, 3, 63: intra limen cohibere se, to keep within doors, id. Mil. 3, 1, 11: marmoreo stridens in limine cardo, Verg. Cir. 222; Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 73: fores in liminibus profanarum aedium januae nominantur, Cic. N. D. 2, 27, 67: ad valvas se templi limenque convertisse, Caes. B. C. 3, 105: penetrare aulas et limina regum, the courts and doors, Verg. G. 2, 504: ipso in limine portae, id. A. 2, 242; cf.: tremuitque saepe limite in primo sonipes, Sen. Agam. 629: famuli ad limina, doorkeepers, porters, Sil. 1, 66: in limine portūs, at the very entrance of the haven, Verg. A. 7, 598: densos per limina tende corymbos, Juv. 6, 52.—2. Still more gen., a house, dwelling, abode:
matronae nulla auctoritate virorum contineri limine poterant, in the house, at home, Liv. 34, 1: ad limen consulis adesse, etc., id. 2, 48: limine pelli, Verg. A. 7, 579.—II. Trop., both entrance and exit.
A. A beginning, commencement (poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
leti limine in ipso, Lucr. 6, 1157: in limine belli, Tac. A. 3, 74: in ipso statim limine obstare, Quint. 2, 11, 1: in limine victoriae, Curt. 6, 3, 10; 6, 9, 17; 9, 10, 26: a limine ipso mortis revocatus, Plin. 7, 44, 45, § 143; Sen. Ep. 22, 16; Just. 14, 3, 9.—B. An end, termination (post-class.):
in ipso finitae lucis limine, App. M. 11, p. 267, 18; cf.: limina sicut in domibus finem quendam faciunt, sic et imperii finem limen esse veteres voluerunt, Just. Inst. 1, 12, § 5.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
līmen inis, n
2 LAC-, a cross-piece, threshold, head-piece, lintel, sill : primo Limine, at the outer threshold , Iu.: Ter limen tetigi (an omen), O.: haec limina, Intra quae puer est, Iu.— A door, entrance : limen exire, T.: intrare: marmoreum, H.: fores in liminibus aedium ianuae nominantur: templi, Cs.: in limine portūs, the very entrance , V.: Ausoniae, border , V.— A house, dwelling, abode : contineri limine, at home , L.: limine pelli, V.: deorum Limina, temples , V.— The barrier (in a race-course): limen relinquunt, V.—Fig., a beginning : belli, Ta.: in limine victoriae, on the eve , Cu.: mortis, Ct.
Origins
Likely related to līmus (“transverse, oblique”), with the suffix -men. See also līmes.
Italo-Romance
- Italianlemene
- ItalianLemene
Borrowed
- Italianlimine
- Spanishlimen
Rhaeto-Romance
- Ladinlime
- Ladinlim
- Romanshglim
- Romanshim
Gallo-Italic
- Lombardlimni
Gallo-Romance
- Normanlime