Has “Liminal” Become a More Common Word?

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Nancy, and I’m calling you from New Haven, Connecticut.

Hello, Nancy. Welcome to the show. What’s up?

I’ve become fascinated and kind of curious about the word liminal, and I wanted to hear what the two of you had to say about it. I was unfamiliar with this word until maybe like a year or so ago, and then I felt like I started hearing it, and I like the sound of it. And I looked it up. And I think I understand what it’s about. But I feel like I’ve been hearing it everywhere and reading about it. And it seemed new to me. I have a pretty good vocabulary. So it piqued my interest. And that’s why I wanted to call and see what you had to say.

All right.

So liminal, L-I-M-I-N-A-L, liminal?

That’s right.

That’s right.

Where are you seeing this? Where are you coming across this?

I listen to NPR a lot. And I also listen to podcasts. And I feel like I’m hearing it when people are being interviewed or on a panel. And they’re talking about what’s happening in the world or where we are. Things like that. And I also feel like I’ve been reading it, too, in magazines. You know, that have, like, long-form journalism.

Yeah. And what’s your sense of its meaning?

Well, I think it means it’s sort of like an in-between space. I mean, I’m wondering if part of the root of it is limbo, like the same thing as limbo. And so it’s in between, I think about like freshwater and ocean water and that place in the middle that’s maybe brackish that’s sort of in between. And it has like a mysterious quality to it.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. The word liminal comes from the Latin word for threshold, which is limen, L-I-M-E-N. And I think it’s a beautiful word, liminal. It sounds smarter than just saying in between.

I agree. This is liminal. Why is it so evocatively different than subliminal? Subliminal seems suspicious and doubtful, and liminal sounds possible and opportunistic.

Stick. Interesting, right? I hadn’t even thought about that. Yeah. But the good news, Nancy, is that you’re not imagining it. If you look at a corpus of news writing, you know, a collection of news writing, we see its use rising significantly around 2021 and then particularly in the last couple of years. And another thing that you might have noticed is people talking about liminal spaces.

Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. And this is partly an internet aesthetic of, there was a time starting around 2019 where people started posting pictures of things like spaces devoid of people, like deserted classrooms or auditoriums or hotel corridors or on TikTok and Tumblr and Reddit that sort of capture images that sort of capture this moment of betweenness, you know, buildings that are in use, but at the moment they’re not fully occupied or not fully abandoned either. And, you know, they describe those as liminal spaces. But, you know, it just sounds better, I think, than in between space.

I love the word. I love saying it. And you’re right. It’s one of those words that you say it and it sort of takes you somewhere in between, I guess. But, yeah. And it’s definitely a word of the last 30 years or so as well. If we look back as far as the 1880s, it’s little used except maybe in the 20s and 30s when people are writing about psychology and psychoanalysis. And then it really starts to burst forward in the 1980s and 90s and certainly the 2000s the most.

And, you know, Nancy, another thing I love about the word liminal is the way it looks.

Yes.

You know what I’m talking about?

Yes. I wrote that down to say to you, but then I thought, I don’t know. The two L’s are at the end.

Yeah. And they’re tall. Like it’s a definite place. And then you feel like you’re in between them with all the short letters in the middle. So, yes, I do know what you mean.

Oh, good. It’s not just you. Thank you so much, Nancy, for your call. We really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

We’d love to hear the words that you’re coming across and just want to explore a little bit. Martha and I dig it. And you can dig us toll-free. Call or text 877-929-9673. Or find lots of ways to talk to us on our website at waywordradio.org.