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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIM'IT, n. [L. limes. See Limb.]
1. Bound; border; utmost extent; the part that terminates a thing; as the limit of a town, city or empire; the limits of human knowledge.
2. The thing which bounds; restraint.
3. Limits, plu., the extent of the liberties of a prison.
LIM'IT, v.t.
1. To bound; to set bounds to.
2. To confine within certain bounds; to circumscribe; to restrain. The government of England is a limited monarchy.
They tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel. Psalms 78.
3. To restrain from a lax or general signification. World sometimes signifies the universe, and sometimes its signification is limited to this earth.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the greatest possible degree of something; "what he did was beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior"; "to the limit of his ability" [syn: limit, bound, boundary]
2: final or latest limiting point [syn: terminus ad quem, terminal point, limit]
3: as far as something can go
4: the boundary of a specific area [syn: limit, demarcation, demarcation line]
5: the mathematical value toward which a function goes as the independent variable approaches infinity [syn: limit, limit point, point of accumulation]
6: the greatest amount of something that is possible or allowed; "there are limits on the amount you can bet"; "it is growing rapidly with no limitation in sight" [syn: limit, limitation] v
1: place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" [syn: restrict, restrain, trammel, limit, bound, confine, throttle]
2: restrict or confine, "I limit you to two visits to the pub a day" [syn: limit, circumscribe, confine]
3: decide upon or fix definitely; "fix the variables"; "specify the parameters" [syn: specify, set, determine, define, fix, limit]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French limite, from Latin limit-, limes boundary Date: 14th century 1. a. something that bounds, restrains, or confines b. the utmost extent 2. a. a geographic or political boundary b. plural the place enclosed within a boundary ; bounds 3. limitation 4. a determining feature or differentia in logic 5. a prescribed maximum or minimum amount, quantity, or number: as a. the maximum quantity of game or fish that may be taken legally in a specified period b. a maximum established for a gambling bet, raise, or payoff 6. a. a number whose numerical difference from a mathematical function is arbitrarily small for all values of the independent variables that are sufficiently close to but not equal to given prescribed numbers or that are sufficiently large positively or negatively b. a number that for an infinite sequence of numbers is such that ultimately each of the remaining terms of the sequence differs from this number by less than any given positive amount 7. something that is exasperating or intolerable • limitless adjective • limitlessly adverb • limitlessness noun II. transitive verb Date: 14th century 1. to assign certain limits to ; prescribe <reserved the right to limit use of the land> 2. a. to restrict the bounds or limits of <the specialist can no longer limit himself to his specialty> b. to curtail or reduce in quantity or extent <we must limit the power of aggressors> • limitable adjective • limiter noun Synonyms: limit, restrict, circumscribe, confine mean to set bounds for. limit implies setting a point or line (as in time, space, speed, or degree) beyond which something cannot or is not permitted to go <visits are limited to 30 minutes>. restrict suggests a narrowing or tightening or restraining within or as if within an encircling boundary <laws intended to restrict the freedom of the press>. circumscribe stresses a restriction on all sides and by clearly defined boundaries <the work of the investigating committee was carefully circumscribed>. confine suggests severe restraint and a resulting cramping, fettering, or hampering <our choices were confined by finances>.

Britannica Concise

Mathematical concept based on the idea of closeness, used mainly in studying the behavior of functions close to values at which they are undefined. For example, the function is not defined at . For positive values of , as is chosen closer and closer to 0, the value of begins to grow rapidly, approaching infinity as a limit. This interplay of action and reaction as the independent variable moves closer to a given value is the essence of the idea of a limit. Limits provide the means of defining the derivative and integral of a function.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a point, line, or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass. 2 (often in pl.) the boundary of an area. 3 the greatest or smallest amount permissible or possible (upper limit; lower limit). 4 Math. a quantity which a function or sum of a series can be made to approach as closely as desired. --v.tr. (limited, limiting) 1 set or serve as a limit to. 2 (foll. by to) restrict. Phrases and idioms: be the limit colloq. be intolerable or extremely irritating. off limits US out of bounds. within limits moderately; with some degree of freedom. without limit with no restriction. Derivatives: limitable adj. limitative adj. limiter n. Etymology: ME f. L limes limitis boundary, frontier

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Limit Lim"it, v. i. To beg, or to exercise functions, within a certain limited region; as, a limiting friar. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Limit Lim"it (l[i^]m"[i^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Limited; p. pr. & vb. n. Limiting.] [F. limiter, L. limitare, fr. limes, limitis, limit; prob. akin to limen threshold, E. eliminate; cf. L. limus sidelong.] To apply a limit to, or set a limit for; to terminate, circumscribe, or restrict, by a limit or limits; as, to limit the acreage of a crop; to limit the issue of paper money; to limit one's ambitions or aspirations; to limit the meaning of a word. Limiting parallels (Astron.), those parallels of latitude between which only an occultation of a star or planet by the moon, in a given case, can occur.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Limit Lim"it (l[i^]m"[i^]t), n. [From L. limes, limitis: cf. F. limite; or from E. limit, v. See Limit, v. t.] 1. That which terminates, circumscribes, restrains, or confines; the bound, border, or edge; the utmost extent; as, the limit of a walk, of a town, of a country; the limits of human knowledge or endeavor. As eager of the chase, the maid Beyond the forest's verdant limits strayed. --Pope. 2. The space or thing defined by limits. The archdeacon hath divided it Into three limits very equally. --Shak. 3. That which terminates a period of time; hence, the period itself; the full time or extent. The dateless limit of thy dear exile. --Shak. The limit of your lives is out. --Shak. 4. A restriction; a check; a curb; a hindrance. I prithee, give no limits to my tongue. --Shak. 5. (Logic & Metaph.) A determining feature; a distinguishing characteristic; a differentia. 6. (Math.) A determinate quantity, to which a variable one continually approaches, and may differ from it by less than any given difference, but to which, under the law of variation, the variable can never become exactly equivalent. Elastic limit. See under Elastic. Prison limits, a definite extent of space in or around a prison, within which a prisoner has liberty to go and come. Syn: Boundary; border; edge; termination; restriction; bound; confine.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(limits, limiting, limited) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A limit is the greatest amount, extent, or degree of something that is possible. Her love for him was being tested to its limits... There is no limit to how much fresh fruit you can eat in a day... N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp 2. A limit of a particular kind is the largest or smallest amount of something such as time or money that is allowed because of a rule, law, or decision. The three month time limit will be up in mid-June... The economic affairs minister announced limits on petrol sales. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. The limit of an area is its boundary or edge. ...the city limits of Baghdad. N-COUNT: with supp 4. The limits of a situation are the facts involved in it which make only some actions or results possible. She has to work within the limits of a fairly tight budget... He outlined the limits of British power. N-PLURAL: usu N of n 5. If you limit something, you prevent it from becoming greater than a particular amount or degree. He limited payments on the country's foreign debt... The view was that the economy would grow by 2.25 per cent. This would limit unemployment to around 2.5 million. = restrict VERB: V n, V n to n 6. If you limit yourself to something, or if someone or something limits you, the number of things that you have or do is reduced. It is now accepted that men should limit themselves to 20 units of alcohol a week... Voters cut councillors' pay and limited them to one staff member each. VERB: V pron-refl to n/-ing, V n to n/-ing, also V pron-refl • limiting The conditions laid down to me were not too limiting. ADJ 7. If something is limited to a particular place or group of people, it exists only in that place, or is had or done only by that group. The protests were not limited to New York... Entry to this prize draw is limited to UK residents. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n/-ing, be V-ed to n/-ing 8. see also age limit, limited 9. If an area or a place is off limits, you are not allowed to go there. A one-mile area around the wreck is still off limits... These establishments are off limits to ordinary citizens. PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR to n 10. If someone is over the limit, they have drunk more alcohol than they are legally allowed to when driving a vehicle. (BRIT) If police breathalyse me and find I am over the limit I face a long ban... PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 11. If you say the sky is the limit, you mean that there is nothing to prevent someone or something from being very successful. They have found that, in terms of both salary and career success, the sky is the limit. PHRASE: V inflects 12. If you add within limits to a statement, you mean that it is true or applies only when talking about reasonable or normal situations. In the circumstances we'll tell you what we can, within limits, of course, and in confidence. = within reason PHRASE: PHR with cl

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lim'-it (gebhul, "bound"): Occurs once in Eze 43:12 ("limit" of holy mountain). "Limited" (Ps 78:41) and "limiteth" (horizo, Heb 4:7) are changed in the Revised Version (British and American) to "provoked" (the margin retains "limited") and "defineth" respectively.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Bound, frontier, boundary, confine, bourn, termination, precinct, march. 2. Restriction, restraint, obstruction, check, hindrance. II. v. a. 1. Bound, circumscribe, define, set bounds to, fix the limits of. 2. Restrain, restrict, condition.

Moby Thesaurus

Thule, Ultima Thule, abate, accommodation, acme, adjust to, all, alter, apex, apogee, appoint, area, assign, assuage, bar, be into, be strong in, bitter end, border, border line, bottom dollar, bound, boundary, boundary condition, boundary line, bounds, bourn, box, box in, box up, break boundary, breakoff point, bridle, brim, brink, brow, burden, butt, butt end, cap, capacity, caution, ceiling, channel, check, circumscribe, circumscription, climax, cloud nine, compass, condition, confine, confinement, confines, constrict, contain, content, continence, contract, copyright, cordage, cramp, crest, crown, culmen, culmination, curb, cutoff, cutoff point, deadline, define, delimit, delimitate, delimitation, determinant, determine, diminish, discipline, district, divide, division line, draw in, draw the line, edge, enclose, end, enough, environs, extent, extreme, extreme limit, extremity, fag end, farthest bound, feature, finish, fix, floor, focus, follow, frontier, go in, go in for, guide, heaven, heavens, hedge, hedge about, height, hem, hem in, high noon, high-water mark, highest degree, highest pitch, highest point, hinder, hold in check, inhibit, interface, it, joke, jumping-off place, keep from spreading, keep within bounds, leaven, lessen, limen, limitation, limiting factor, limits, line, line of demarcation, localize, low-water mark, lower limit, major in, march, margin, mark, mark out, maximum, measure, meridian, mete, minor in, mitigate, moderate, moderation, modify, modulate, mountaintop, narrow, ne plus ultra, nib, no place higher, noon, nth degree, outrage, palliate, patent, peak, perimeter, periphery, pinch, pinnacle, pitch, point, pole, poundage, precincts, prescribe, prescription, proscription, purlieus, pursue, qualification, qualify, quantity, quarter, reduce, region, register, regulate by, restrain, restraint, restrict, restriction, ridge, rim, room, scant, season, separate, set, set conditions, set limits, seventh heaven, sky, snape, soften, space, specialize, specialize in, spire, stand, start, starting line, starting point, stint, stowage, straiten, stub, stump, summit, surprise, surround, tag, tag end, tail, tail end, taper, target date, temper, term, terminal date, termination, terminus, territory, the last straw, the limit, the whole, threshold, tighten, time allotment, tip, tip-top, tonnage, too much, top, upmost, upper extremity, upper limit, uppermost, utmost, utmost extent, uttermost, verge, vertex, very top, volume, zenith, zone