Etymologically
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transatlantic

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 03:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌtrænzətˈlæntɪk/, /ˌtrɑːnzətˈlæntɪk/[1]
  • US: /ˌtrænzətˈlænt̬ɪk/, /ˌtrænsətˈlænt̬ɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English trans- + Atlantic,[2][3][4][5][6][7] with trans- meaning across or beyond.[3][8] Compare French transatlantique.[2][3] Klein compares cisatlantic.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Passing or extending across the Atlantic Ocean: 1779, in J. Wilkes's correspondence.[2][6] Etymonline gives the same year for the sense "on the other side of the Atlantic from the speaker".[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED records the sense "situated beyond the Atlantic" from 1782, in Jefferson, and notes that in European use it chiefly meant American.[2] The Shorter Oxford adds that from an American point of view it means British or European.[4] As a noun it has meant a person or thing from across the Atlantic, especially an American, since 1826, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine,[2] and Merriam-Webster also has it for a ship that crosses the Atlantic.[6] Etymonline records the spelling trans-atlantic.[3]

Timeline

  • 1779 – crossing or extending across the Atlantic.[2][6] Etymonline dates the sense "on the other side of the Atlantic" to the same year.[3]
  • 1782 – situated beyond the Atlantic; from a European point of view, American.[2]
  • 1826 – noun, a person or thing from across the Atlantic, especially an American.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Crossing or spanning the Atlantic Ocean: a transatlantic flight.[9][6][2]
  2. On or from the other side of the Atlantic; to a European, American, and to an American, British or European.[9][6][4]

Noun

  1. A person who lives on the other side of the Atlantic.[6][2][4]
  2. A ship that crosses the Atlantic.[6]

Word family

  • transatlantically
  • Atlantic
  • cisatlantic
  • Atlas

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins