Exact historical dictionary sense
Limit in Webster's 1913 dictionary
The 1913 record labels limit as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.
WEBSTER 1913noun
Limit
[From L. limes, limitis: cf. F. limite; -or from E. limit, v. See Limit, v. t.]
Cross-verified historical senseHeadwordlimit
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[From L. limes, limitis: cf. F. limite; -or from E. limit, v. See Limit, v. t.]
Selected historical definitionThat 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.
Signed record IDwebster1913-limit-noun-85fefdc8728e
Source locatorCIDE.L, paragraph 4482; Gutenberg eBook 664
Quick answer
In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "limit" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[From L. limes, limitis: cf. F. limite; -or from E. limit, v. See Limit, v. t.]" The selected historical definition says: "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."