1. Religious Context: In Catholicism, Limbo is a state of existence where souls of unbaptized infants and righteous people who died before the time of Christ are thought to reside. This is a place of peace and happiness, but not heaven. This meaning is more historical and less commonly used in modern times.
2. State of Uncertainty or Indefinite Suspension: This is the most common usage of "limbo." It refers to a situation where something is neither fully one thing nor another, often with a feeling of being stuck or uncertain. Examples include:
* "The project is in limbo, waiting for funding to be approved."
* "He's been in limbo since he graduated, trying to figure out his next steps."
3. A Dance: Limbo is a Caribbean dance where participants bend backward and attempt to pass under a lowered horizontal bar. It's a playful and physical activity, often done at parties and festivals.
So, while there's no single, universally agreed-upon list of "3 meanings" of limbo, these are the three main contexts where the word is used.