🔄 Transitional state 📄 Introductory

liminary

9.9

Near the edge between two stages, like childhood and adulthood

adjective

: liminar

As we stood at the liminary edge of the forest, we could see the vast fields beyond.

Examples

In the liminary stage of her recovery, she was gradually regaining her strength and mobility.
The liminary phase of the experiment revealed important insights before we reached the final results.
From this perspective, the liminary position of the essay on Watteau in their collection of art criticism is telling.

Academic text (1990)
Of course, the liminary position that Sarmiento occupies in the development of Spanish American cultural discourse seems a more than reasonable justification.

Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

transitional

vsliminary

54 4.7

Relating to a time of change from one state to another

is about being at or near the border rather than the whole change period

liminal

vsliminary

3 8.4

Being between two states or places, like before and after a change

is about being near the border or transitional phase rather than only the threshold

How Transitional

liminary

9.9

preliminary

325 5.2

Surface Forms

liminary positive

Morphology

liminary = liminal (transparent) = limin + ary

The adjective is directly formed from the threshold root (limin-/liminal) with the productive suffix '-ary', so the sense 'relating to a threshold or transitional state' follows straightforwardly.

Etymology

Liminary comes from the Latin root limen, meaning 'threshold' or 'doorway'. Imagine a doorway between two rooms—something liminary sits on that border, so it describes a transitional state near the edge between two conditions.