Adjacent Words

Transpire definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRANSPI'RE, v.t. [L. transpiro; trans and spiro.] To emit through the pores of the skin; to send off in vapor.
TRANSPI'RE, v.i. To be emitted through the pores of the skin; to exhale; to pass off in insensible perspiration; as, fluids transpire from the human body.
1. To escape from secrecy; to become public. The proceedings of the council have not yet transpired.
2. To happen or come to pass.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas [syn: transpire, transpirate]
2: exude water vapor; "plants transpire"
3: come to light; become known; "It transpired that she had worked as spy in East Germany"
4: come about, happen, or occur; "Several important events transpired last week"
5: give off (water) through the skin

Merriam Webster's

verb (transpired; transpiring) Etymology: Middle French transpirer, from Medieval Latin transpirare, from Latin trans- + spirare to breathe Date: 1597 transitive verb to pass off or give passage to (a fluid) through pores or interstices; especially to excrete (as water) in the form of a vapor through a living membrane (as the skin) intransitive verb 1. to give off vaporous material; specifically to give off or exude watery vapor especially from the surfaces of leaves 2. to pass in the form of a vapor from a living body 3. a. to be revealed ; come to light b. to become known or apparent ; develop 4. to take place ; go on, occur Usage: Sense 4 of transpire is the frequent whipping boy of those who suppose sense 3 to be the only meaning of the word. Sense 4 appears to have developed in the late 18th century; it was well enough known to have been used by Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband in 1775 <there is nothing new transpired since I wrote you last — Abigail Adams>. Noah Webster recognized the new sense in his dictionary of 1828. Transpire was evidently a popular word with 19th century journalists; sense 4 turns up in such pretentiously worded statements as “The police drill will transpire under shelter to-day in consequence of the moist atmosphere prevailing.” Around 1870 the sense began to be attacked as a misuse on the grounds of etymology, and modern critics echo the damnation of 1870. Sense 4 has been in existence for about two centuries; it is firmly established as standard; it occurs now primarily in serious prose, not the ostentatiously flamboyant prose typical of 19th century journalism.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. (of a secret or something unknown) leak out; come to be known. 2 intr. disp. a (prec. by it as subject) turn out; prove to be the case (it transpired he knew nothing about it). b occur; happen. 3 tr. & intr. emit (vapour, sweat, etc.), or be emitted, through the skin or lungs; perspire. 4 intr. (of a plant or leaf) release water vapour. Derivatives: transpirable adj. transpiration n. transpiratory adj. Etymology: F transpirer or med.L transpirare (as TRANS-, L spirare breathe)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(transpires, transpiring, transpired) 1. When it transpires that something is the case, people discover that it is the case. (FORMAL) It transpired that Paolo had left his driving licence at home... As it transpired, the Labour government did not dare go against the pressures exerted by the City. = turn out VERB: it V that, it V 2. When something transpires, it happens. Some speakers of English consider this use to be incorrect. Nothing is known as yet about what transpired at the meeting. VERB: V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Evaporate (through the pores), exhale, pass off in vapor. 2. Become known, be disclosed, come to light, come out, be made public, get abroad, leak out, appear.

Moby Thesaurus

appear, arise, be found, be met with, be realized, be revealed, become known, befall, betide, bleed, break, break forth, chance, come, come about, come down, come off, come out, come to light, come to pass, come true, develop, discharge, effuse, emit, eventuate, excrete, exfiltrate, extravasate, exudate, exude, fall, fall out, filter, filtrate, get out, give off, go, go off, hap, happen, leach, leak, leak out, lixiviate, manifest itself, materialize, occur, ooze, out, pass, pass off, percolate, reek, result, seep, show its colors, show its face, stand revealed, strain, take place, transude, turn out, weep