A theological term referring to the abode of souls excluded from heaven but not condemned to hell, especially unbaptized infants and righteous people who died before Christ. Used in Christian contexts.
In Catholic theology, it was held that infants who died without baptism went to limbo.
From 辺 (へん, 'vicinity, edge') + 獄 (ごく, 'prison, hell'), literally 'edge prison/hell'. A coined term for the Christian concept of limbo, likely a calque from Western languages.