Asymptote
Etymology
From Greek “asymptotos” (not falling together), from a- (not) plus syn (together) plus ptotos (falling), from piptein (to fall). It describes a line and a curve that draw together forever without meeting.
noun · /AS-im-toht/
A limit that a curve approaches ever more closely but never quite reaches.
What it names
It gives a name to the many real processes that keep improving while never arriving — the ceiling you can only near.
Example
A new skill improves fast at first, then flattens toward an asymptote where each further gain takes disproportionate effort.
Related idea
An asymptotic approach is the mirror image of exponential growth: instead of accelerating without bound, it decelerates toward a limit, the shape of diminishing returns.