limitation (n.)

late 14c., from Old French limitacion "restriction, legal limitation," and directly from Latin limitationem (nominative limitatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of limitare "to bound, limit, fix," from limes "boundary, limit" (see limit (n.)). Phrase statute of limitations is attested by 1768; it fixes and limits the period within which an action must be brought.

updated on December 17, 2020