Etymograph

English

limitation

Limitation comes from Latin limitatio ‘determination’, from līmitō ‘to limit, delimit, bound’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘to bow, to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-1‘to bow, to bend’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līmos1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmus2‘askew’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmes3‘a limit set between two estates or fields, border, boundary’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmitō4‘to limit, delimit, bound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElimitatio5‘determination’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1962limitation5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin limus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin limes
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin limito
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin limitatio
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English limitation
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units: “The coaches are similar to those of the Hampshire…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-Wiktionary, Latin limus‘to bow, to bend’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līmosWiktionary, Latin limusuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmusWiktionary, Latin limes‘askew’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmesWiktionary, Latin limito‘a limit set between two estates or fields, border, boundary’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmitōWiktionary, Latin limitatio‘to limit, delimit, bound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElimitatioWiktionary, English limitation‘determination’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1962limitationWiktionary, English limitation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units: “The coaches are similar to those of the Hampshire…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘to bow, to bend’

sublime, ell, subliminal, ulna, 8 more

through Latin līmes ‘a limit set between two estates or fields,…’

limes, 8 more

through Latin līmitō ‘to limit, delimit, bound’

delimit, 5 more

Today it means

noun The act of limiting or the state of being limited.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “limitation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin limus, Latin limes, Latin limito, Latin limitatio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- / limitation

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