liminal

Adjective

liminal (comparative more liminal, superlative most liminal)

1. Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold.
   • [W]ith the utmost strictness, we excommunicate digamists, as bringing infamy upon the Paraclete by the irregularity of their discipline. The selfsame liminal limit we fix for adulterers also and fornicators; dooming them to pour forth tears barren of peace, and to regain from the church no ampler...1870, Tertullian, “Of Modesty”, in Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, editors, Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, volumes XVIII (The...
   • There is a reminiscence, which comes and goes, of Mexican words, of Mexican turns of speech and puns. It is a murmur that wanders in the liminal part of his soul, but the writer [Ramón del Valle-Inclán] lets it be felt with full consciousness of what he is doing.1972, Barbara Bockus Aponte, quoting Alfonso Reyes, “Ramón del Valle-Inclán”, in Alfonso Reyes and Spain: His Dialogue with Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Ortega y Gasset, Jiménez, and Gómez de la Serna...

   Synonyms:

   thresholdlike

2. (literary theory) Pertaining to or in a state that is in-between or transitional between two (or more) other states, while belonging to neither; pertaining to or in a state such as to be neither definitively in a particular other state or category nor definitively outside it.
3. Of or pertaining to a beginning or first stage of a process.
   • If it be assumed […] (2) that the imperceptible value which it [resistance] finally attains is equal to the liminal intensity of the stimulus; and (3) that the intensity of the sensation is proportionate to the magnitude of the area of the circle of irradiation,—the same relation between strength...1875, D. L[udimar] Hermann, translated by Arthur Gamgee, Elements of Human Physiology: … Translated from the Fifth Edition …, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], page 518
   • Every stimulus must reach a certain intensity before any appreciable sensation results. This point is known as the threshold or liminal intensity.1884, James Sully, “Sensation”, in Outlines of Psychology: With Special Reference to the Theory of Education. A Text-book for Colleges, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton and Company, 1, 3, and 5 Bond...

   Synonyms:

   inceptive, inchoative, marginal

4. (informal, aesthetic) Of an empty environment that evokes a surreal blend of nostalgia, comfort, and unease; see liminal space.