Transpire Definition | Definition of Transpire at Dictionary.com

tran⋅spire

[tran-spahy^uh

verb, -spired, -spir⋅ing.

–verb (used without object)

1.	to occur; happen; take place.

2.	to emit or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.

3.	to escape, as moisture or odor, through or as if through pores.

4.	to be revealed or become known.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to emit or give off (waste matter, watery vapor, an odor, etc.) through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.

Origin:
1590–1600; < MF transpirer < ML trānspīrāre, equiv. to L trāns- trans- + spīrāre to breathe

Related forms:

tran⋅spir⋅a⋅ble, adjective

tran⋅spir⋅a⋅to⋅ry [tran-spahyr-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

, adjective

Usage note:
1. From its earlier literal sense “to escape as vapor” transpire came to mean “to escape from concealment, become known” in the 18th century. Somewhat later, it developed the meaning “to occur, happen,” a sentence such as He was not aware of what had transpired yesterday being taken to mean He was not aware of what had happened yesterday. In spite of two centuries of use in all varieties of speech and writing, this now common meaning is still objected to by some on the grounds that it arose from a misapprehension of the word's true meaning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To transpire

tran·spire (trān-spīr')

v.   tran·spired, tran·spir·ing, tran·spires

v.   tr.
To give off (vapor containing waste products) through the pores of the skin or the stomata of plant tissue.
v.   intr.

To become known; come to light.
Usage Problem To come about; happen or occur.
To give off vapor containing waste products, as through animal or plant pores.

[French transpirer, from Medieval Latin trānspīrāre : Latin trāns-, trans- + Latin spīrāre, to breathe.]

Usage Note: Transpire has been used since the mid-18th century in the sense "leak out, become publicly known," as in Despite efforts to hush the matter up, it soon transpired that the colonels had met with the rebel leaders. This usage has long been standard. The more common use of transpire to mean "occur" or "happen" has had a more troubled history. Though it dates at least to the beginning of the 19th century, language critics have condemned it for more than 100 years as both pretentious and unetymological. There is some sign that resistance to this sense of transpire is abating, however. In a 1969 survey the usage was acceptable to only 38 percent of the Usage Panel; nearly 20 years later, 58 percent accepted it in the sentence All of these events transpired after last week's announcement. Still, many Panelists who accepted the usage also remarked that it was pretentious or pompous.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Transpire

Tran*spire"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Transpired; p. pr. & vb. n. Transpiring.] [F. transpirer; L. trans across, through + spirare to breathe. See Spirit.]

1. (Physiol.) To pass off in the form of vapor or insensible perspiration; to exhale.

2. (Bot.) To evaporate from living cells.

3. To escape from secrecy; to become public; as, the proceedings of the council soon transpired.

The story of Paulina's and Maximilian's mutual attachment had transpired through many of the travelers. --De Quincey.

4. To happen or come to pass; to occur.

Note: This sense of the word, which is of comparatively recent introduction, is common in the United States, especially in the language of conversation and of newspaper writers, and is used to some extent in England. Its use, however, is censured by critics of both countries.

Transpire

Tran*spire"\, v. t. 1. (Physiol.) To excrete through the skin; to give off in the form of vapor; to exhale; to perspire.

2. (Bot.) To evaporate (moisture) from living cells.

transpire

1597, "pass off in the form of a vapor or liquid," from M.Fr. transpirer (c.1560), from L. trans- "through" + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit). Figurative sense of "leak out, become known" is recorded from 1741, and the erroneous meaning "take place, happen" is almost as old, being first recorded 1755.

Search another word or see transpire on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us