Etymologically
Log in

transitus

This is an old revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:34. It may differ significantly from the current version. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Current version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtrãː.sɪ.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtran.si.tus][1]

Forms

trānsitus m (genitive trānsitūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from trānseō “to go across” with the suffix -itus.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short's and Gaffiot's earliest example is Cicero's passage of a ditch, and the OLD cites Caesar.[4][5][2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant crossing over, passage, as Cicero's ditch and Caesar's crossing hindered by a river, in Pliny an official journey, and in trānsitū in passing, as in Seneca.[2][4][5] In Ovid it meant the movement of things through, in Pliny the Elder a crossing place, and in Seneca a channel.[2] In Ovid it meant transition from one state to another, in Tacitus a change of sides, and in Celsus and Quintilian a transition in speech, a musical interval, and in Varro an inflection.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant passing over, passage, transition, change.[7] Medieval Latin used it for death and the anniversary of a death.[8] It was borrowed into Italian transito and French transit, and English transit came in the mid-15th century, “passageway”.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of crossing a ditch.[4][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of crossing.[2][6]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of transition.[2][6]
  • mid-15th century – English transit is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Crossing, passage, in trānsitū, in passing.[2]
  2. Movement through; a crossing place; a channel.[2]
  3. Transition; a change of sides.[2]
  4. A transition in speech; a musical interval; an inflection.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Death.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill