transit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɹæn.zɪt/, /ˈtɹæn.sɪt/; /ˈtɹɑːn.zɪt/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin transitus (“a going over, passage”),^[2][3][4] from trānsīre (“to cross over, go across”),^[2][5] from trans (“across”) and īre (“to go”), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ei- (“to go”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of passing across or through, and a passageway: about 1440 in the OED and Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In astrology, the passage of a planet across a special point is from 1621,^[6] and in astronomy, the passage of a celestial body across the disc of a larger one, as in the transit of Venus, from 1669.^[2] The verb, to pass over the disc of a heavenly body, is from the 1680s.^[3] The carriage of persons or goods is from 1800,^[6] and in transit is from the same period.^[3] Public passenger transport, chiefly North American, is from 1873.^[6] A surveying instrument called a transit is from the 19th century.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1440 – passage; a passageway.^[6]
• 1621 – in astrology.^[6]
• 1669 – in astronomy.^[2]
• 1800 – carriage of goods.^[6]
• 1873 – public transport.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The carrying of people or goods from one place to another.
2. (chiefly North American) A system of public transport.
3. The act of passing over, across or through; passage.
4. (astronomy) The passage of a planet or moon across the disc of a larger body.
5. A surveying instrument for measuring angles.

Verb

1. To pass across or through.

Word family

• paratransit
• transit lounge
• rapid transit
• transit instrument

Related words

• transience
• transiency
• transient
• transition
• transitive
• transitory
• trance
• exit
• itinerary

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press