unlimitedadj.n.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈlɪmᵻtᵻd/, U.S. /ˌənˈlɪmᵻdᵻd/ A. adj.† 3. Mathematics. Designating a problem which has an infinite number of solutions. Occasionally also: infinite. Obsolete.
1. Having no limits; not restricted as regards amount, extent, degree, scope, etc.; subject to no limitation or restriction; (esp. of power, authority, etc.) free from all external restraint or interference.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > infiniteness > [adjective]
unbegunc1000
uncircumscriptc1374
endless138.
finitea1400
measurelessc1400
infinite1413
ginningless?1440
immensec1450
unlimitedc1475
infinal?1504
interminate1533
termlessa1542
brinkless1567
without limit1572
uncompassed1577
limitlessa1586
beginningless1587
untermedc1595
boundless1599
illimitate1602
illimited1602
unbeginning1605
incomprehense1606
inconjectable1609
uncircumscribed1610
borderless1611
confinelessa1616
finelessa1616
unconfined1629
uninchoative1649
indefinite1664
incircumscript1677
imprincipiate1683
ensophic1693
interminateda1734
unhorizoned1811
unencompasseda1822
unterminated1853
society > authority > power > [adjective] > of power: great or supreme
sovereign?1533
unlimiteda1586
the mind > possession > supply > [adjective] > yielding in abundance > unfailing or inexhaustible
unfailinga1382
unwastable?1578
unemptiable1593
undrainable1611
unexhaustible1656
intarissable1661
exhaustless1712
unspendable1876
unlimited1878
c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 129 Which gouernaunce in it silf is vnlimitid and vnassigned to eny special tyme.
1580 A. Fleming tr. N. Hemmingsen Epist. Ephesians 110 Neither are those things which belong onelie to the Godhead, in anie case to be attributed to the Manhood: as, To be vncreated, Not to suffer, To be eternall, To be vnlimitted.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. i. sig. Ii4v It must be an vnlimited Monarchy.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iii. ii. sig. Fv The curse of heauen raines In plagues vnlimitted through all his daies.
1644 P. Hunton Vindic. Treat. Monarchy v. 45 That the Power of the Monarch in this Frame is not unlimited.
1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours i. iv. 78 Nor must what has been newly said of the Differences of True and Apparent Colours, be interpreted in too Unlimited a Sense.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 10 The expences of the Court..[were] vast and unlimited.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 325 The unlimited power of these fellows.
1777 J. Cook Jrnl. 13 July (1967) III. i. 174 The power of the King is unlimited.
1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity I. ii. 158 The absolute and unlimited declarations of the divine mercy.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. ii. vi. 137 So violent,..are the Limited Patriots and the Unlimited.
1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. 149 My confidence in his talents and energy is unlimited.
1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. 19 We never want an unlimited quantity of anything.
1916 Proc. Conf. Internat. Relations 1915 ii. 50 Brazil and Chile have an almost unlimited supply of iron ore.
1946 Harvard Law Rev. 59 731 The Board has apparently unlimited discretion whether or not to issue a complaint.
1983 Times 30 June 13/4 A monthly card that gives me unlimited access to the underground and buses.
2016 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 23 July 5 What once seemed an unlimited source of clean water for domestic supplies and agricultural use.
2. Not limited or restricted in number; (also, more generally) countless, numerous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > infinite
unlimited1677
infinite1693
1677 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (rev. ed.) 308 Four Wives the Law tolerates, Concubines are unlimited.
1735 C. Charke Art of Managem. Prol. sig. B That I have Faults unlimited, I do confess.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 6 In the middle ages, the baptising of bells was attended with much festivity...The godfathers who were unlimited..gave grand entertainments.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 271 With one round and two scalene triangular beds, containing..an unlimited number of marigolds.
1861 Temple Bar Feb. 381 Two grandmothers, three uncles, five aunts, and cousins unlimited, took possession of me.
1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 441/2 After unlimited grogs, and just as eight bells were striking.
1915 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 15 643 It means visiting hospitals and training schools and reading unlimited pages devoted to the subject.
1971 J. Aiken Cuckoo Tree (2000) vi. 147 Yan seemed to have unlimited relatives.
2015 Sun (Nexis) 26 Dec. (Features section) 60 An annual Passport with unlimited visits to all ten museums is from £68 for a family with two adults.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > infinite or unlimited
finitea1400
infinite1413
unmeasuredc1429
immoderatec1508
unbounded1646
unhoopable1672
ensophic1693
unlimited1702
unboundc1725
unpartial1787
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [adjective] > relating to mathematical enquiry > of a proposition > of a problem
problematical1570
unlimited1702
poristic1704
porismatic1792
cyclotomic1879
complex1965
1702 J. Raphson Math. Dict. Introd. 3 It [sc. a problem] may be either limited, or unlimited, determin'd, or indetermin'd, or local.
1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 131 These kinds of questions are called by algebraists indeterminate or unlimited problems.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 31/1 Unlimited,..is frequently used by mathematical writers, in the same manner as Indefinite, to avoid the entrance of the word Infinite. It is also used to describe a problem which may have an infinite number of answers, and which is called an unlimited problem.
1860 Math. Monthly 2 21 That branch of Algebra which treats of the solution of indeterminate or unlimited problems is denominated The Indeterminate Analysis.
4. Business (now chiefly British). With reference to the legal liability of a person to pay all the debts incurred by a business in which he or she has invested: not limited to the amount invested; chiefly in unlimited liability (cf. limited liability n. at limited adj. and n. Compounds). Hence: of, designating, or relating to a company, etc., whose members' liability for its debts is not legally limited to the extent of their investment; (also, of a person) having unlimited liability for the debts of a company. Cf. limited company n. at Compounds, limited partner n. at limited adj. and n. Compounds.
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1815 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 21 Oct. The doctrine of the unlimited liability of stockholders in unchartered companies, is here directly advanced.
1870 Law Times 12 Nov. 353/2 In the case of an..unlimited company, it must be presumed that the partnership or the company is able to pay its debts in full until the contrary is shown.
1902 Amer. Law Reg. 50 610 A partner's liability is unlimited and whatever he might individually obtain from the firm assets would be liable to attachment by firm creditors who had not received full satisfaction for their claims out of firm assets.
1921 Bull. Photogr. 20 July 87/1 Even a small holding in an unlimited liability company may involve the risk of losing far more than he can ever hope to possess.
1985 Jrnl. Financial & Quantitative Anal. 20 387 The prices consumers pay for products were assumed to be independent of the legal form of the producing entity (i.e. a limited liability corporation vis-a-vis an unlimited partnership).
1996 Introd. to Official List 56 GBGH was incorporated as an unlimited company on 15 April 1996 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Gas. The company was re-registered as a limited company on 4 July 1996.
2012 Irish Times (Nexis) 1 June (Finance section) 4 One of seven unlimited partners at Bloxham who face personal liability for any shortfall at the firm.
5. U.S. Designating a boat in a class of high-speed hydroplanes which has no upper limit placed on engine capacity.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > mechanically propelled vessels > [adjective] > having hydrofoils > unlimited (of hydroplane)
unlimited1916
1916 Power Boating July 22/1 It [sc. the power boat program] starts in on Monday afternoon and continues through the week with races every day from open boats rating 50 and under to unlimited hydroplanes.
1956 Rudder Apr. 40/2 A dozen open regattas for unlimited inboard hydroplanes have been scheduled.
1983 Boating Apr. 74/1 Atlas' competitors in all this are the 16 other unlimited boats on the circuit, perhaps four or five which have a serious chance of winning.
2008 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 30 June b2/1 Jean Theoret emerged the winner of the Thunder on the Ohio unlimited hydroplane race Sunday.
B. n.
An unlimited hydroplane.
ΚΠ
1928 Rudder Jan. 50/2 It was a real classic, and when the four unlimiteds roared up for the gun it was plain that the owners were out for blood.
1954 Nevada State Jrnl. 10 Sept. There will be several classifications of speedboats entered in various divisions, ranging from the little outboards up to the terrifically fast unlimiteds.
1962 New Yorker 29 Sept. 102/2 The sleek-shaped unlimiteds, gaily painted like some archaic ‘flying circus’.
1972 Collier's Encycl. Year Bk. 1971 521 Unlimiteds, those manta-ray shaped thunderboats that have over 200 mph on straightaways.
2009 M. Gastineau et al. Great Bk. Seattle Sports Lists 66 The new boat, Slo-Mo-Shun III, seemed so promising that Sayres shelved it and built a full-fledged unlimited, Slo-Mo-Shun IV.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.c1475