Main Entry:

¹lim·it

Pronunciation:

\ˈli-mət\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French limite, from Latin limit-, limes boundary

Date:

14th century

1 a: something that bounds, restrains, or confines b: the utmost extent2 a: a geographic or political boundary bplural : the place enclosed within a boundary : bounds3: limitation4: a determining feature or differentia in logic5: a prescribed maximum or minimum amount, quantity, or number: as a: the maximum quantity of game or fish that may be taken legally in a specified period b: a maximum established for a gambling bet, raise, or payoff 6 a: a number whose numerical difference from a mathematical function is arbitrarily small for all values of the independent variables that are sufficiently close to but not equal to given prescribed numbers or that are sufficiently large positively or negatively b: a number that for an infinite sequence of numbers is such that ultimately each of the remaining terms of the sequence differs from this number by less than any given positive amount7: something that is exasperating or intolerable

— lim·it·less \-ləs\ adjective

— lim·it·less·ly adverb

— lim·it·less·ness noun