transitn.
/ˈtranzɪt/, /ˈtrɑːnzɪt/, /ˈtransɪt/, /ˈtrɑːnsɪt/, U.S. /ˈtrænzət/ I. Senses relating to movement from one place to another.† 1. A passage or path. Obsolete. rare.† 4. A place where a river may be crossed. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun]
patheOE
gangOE
gangwayOE
passagec1300
wenta1325
goingc1350
transit1440
way-wenta1450
accessa1460
traduct1535
conveyance1542
ancoming1589
passado1599
avenue1600
passageway?1606
pass1608
way-ganga1628
approach1633
duct1670
waygate?c1690
way-goa1694
vent1715
archway1802
passway1825
approach road1833
fairway1903
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 499 Trancyte, where menn walke, transitus.
2.
a. The action or fact of passing across or through a place; a passage or journey from one place or point to another.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [noun] > travelling across or through
passagec1300
transita1500
traversing1524
traverse1563
thorough-faring?1575
pass1602
peragration1611
traject1852
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [noun]
leadinga1300
passagec1300
overstyinga1382
overpassingc1384
transita1500
pass1602
transitation1605
transcursion1624
transcent1626
transmeation1630
pertransition1653
tranation1654
transcurrence1656
coming1726
traversion1838
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 12 Above oure hede there is a transite of men [a1500 Harl. 7333 passage and goyng of peple].
1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 64 Passing the first digestion thus crude, either before its transit through the pilorus, causeth a flatus.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 171 Henry..of Huntington.., who writ ten Books Historiæ Anglorum, from the Transit and Introit of the Saxons hither, to the Year 1153.
1766 W. Digby in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1843) II. 12 I lay at Gloucester in my transit.
1833 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Loire 27 Sometimes..the transit from Nantes to Orleans takes two months!
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. xlvi. 87 I..made a transit across the prairies.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. vii. 50 Of the voyages to Lancaster Sound..the transit of the middle ice is the essential feature.
1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly II. xv. 232 In our rapid transit from place to place.
1987 Pilots Internat. Mar. 21/3 The weather on transits can be a lot more worrying than flying the display.
2012 T. F. Ruiz King Trav. v. 186 We accompanied the Prudent King on his transit from Madrid to the many different cities and towns in his eastern realms.
b. figurative. A transition or change; a passing across; spec. the passage from life to death.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > [noun] > a change
changec1325
skiftc1400
alterationa1529
discrepancy1579
transit1652
traverse1692
chop and change1760
volte1901
switch1920
switch-over1928
the world > life > death > [noun]
hensithOE
qualmOE
bale-sithea1000
endingc1000
fallOE
forthsitheOE
soulingOE
life's endOE
deathOE
hethensithc1200
last end?c1225
forthfarec1275
dying1297
finec1300
partingc1300
endc1305
deceasec1330
departc1330
starving1340
passingc1350
latter enda1382
obita1382
perishingc1384
carrion1387
departing1388
finishmentc1400
trespassement14..
passing forthc1410
sesse1417
cess1419
fininga1425
resolutiona1425
departisona1450
passagea1450
departmentc1450
consummation?a1475
dormition1483
debt to (also of) naturea1513
dissolutionc1522
expirationa1530
funeral?a1534
change1543
departure1558
last change1574
transmigration1576
dissolving1577
shaking of the sheets?1577
departance1579
deceasure1580
mortality1582
deceasing1591
waftage1592
launching1599
quietus1603
doom1609
expire1612
expiring1612
period1613
defunctiona1616
Lethea1616
fail1623
dismissiona1631
set1635
passa1645
disanimation1646
suffering1651
abition1656
Passovera1662
latter (last) end1670
finis1682
exitus1706
perch1722
demission1735
demise1753
translation1760
transit1764
dropping1768
expiry1790
departal1823
finish1826
homegoing1866
the last (also final, great) round-up1879
snuffing1922
fade-out1924
thirty1929
appointment in Samarra1934
dirt nap1981
big chill1987
1652 R. Coler Christian-experiences vii. 199 Death to a godly man or woman, is but Aliquid Mortis; something of death, but a transit.
1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ Diat. v. 237 There can be no such transite from one kinde of action to another.
1709 G. Berkeley Ess. New Theory of Vision 171 So swift, and sudden, and unperceiv'd is the Transit from Visible to Tangible Ideas.
1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto iii. 95 To pray for her happy transit to a better life.
1810 J. Jebb Let. 10 Nov. in J. Jebb & A. Knox Thirty Years' Corr. (1834) II. 19 The transit from autumn to winter.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. vi. 138 Speak a word of comfort to him ere he make his transit, Trois-Eschelles.
1859 J. G. Holland Gold Foil xv. 182 Old men..whose work of life is..done, and who may in peace..sit down and wait their mysterious transit.
1871 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue vi. 234 This verb made an early transit to the weak form.
1982 N.Y. Times 12 Sept. (Late ed.) (Travel section) 11/1 The brief parade of color is an occasion for travelers in those parts of the world that enjoy such a transit of seasons.
2008 Ruidoso (New Mexico) News (Nexis) 20 Mar. What better time to celebrate the transit of Jesus from death to life than springtime.
3.
a. The transportation of goods from one place to another.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [noun]
carryinga1382
passinga1382
carriage1423
portage1423
traduction1500
transporting1500
conveyancec1520
transportation1540
convoy1554
wafting1559
transportage1562
convey1587
portation1598
transportance1609
transport1611
weftage1615
conducta1618
vecture1625
vectitation1656
transit1753
messagerie1878
conveyal1886
intermodalism1979
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xlii. 279 The Hamburgers having injudiciously charged a small duty on them, which they have since taken off, and made it a free port for the transit of all goods.
1824 Manch. Guardian 4 Dec. That punctuality and despatch which will attend the transit of merchandise between Liverpool and Manchester.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 254 While he governed, no prohibition..impeded the transit of commodities from any part of the island to any other.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xx. 504 The cost of carriage. Occasionally..this is charged in the value given, the transit being..undertaken frequently by common carriers.
1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 62 The means of transit are so bad, that much good corn is left to rot upon the ground.
1910 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Bot. Gardens, Kew) No. 7 241 Make arrangements for the transit of goods from the nearest town.
2010 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 23 June a8/5 The president of Belarus ordered a halt to the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe.
b. Public passenger transport.rare in British use.mass transit, public transit, rapid transit: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun]
public transportation1851
public transit1853
public transport1859
transit1867
mass transit1925
1867 Herald (Melbourne) 9 Feb. 1/6 The present traffic bears but a small comparison to what would be developed under a system of cheap and rapid transit.
1922 Electric Railway Jrnl. 1 July 14/1 City transit should precede the population—not follow the population.
1974 N.Y. Times 14 Sept. 28/1 We must make major progress in improving urban transit.
2018 NewsBites Finance Newswire (Nexis) 2 July (Announcements section) C-TRAN was the only provider of interstate transit in the area.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > place where something may be crossed
ferry1286
passage?a1400
trajecta1552
crossing1632
trajection1637
pass1649
rack1659
crossing-place1763
river crossing1839
transit1852
1852 G. Grote Hist. Greece IX. ii. lxix. 39 A..flourishing town, a centre of commerce enriched by the important ford or transit of the river Euphrates close to it.
II. In Astronomical and Astrological senses
5. Astrology. The movement of a planet, the moon, or the sun relative to the positions of the planets in an astrological chart (esp. a birth chart), so as to form aspects (aspect n. 4) with these; an aspect formed this way. Also: the passage of a planet through the various houses or signs of the zodiac.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > planetary movement > [noun] > other movements
translation of (the) light and nature?1583
separation1595
ingress1603
transit1644
libration1670
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. i. iv. 76 If ♄ by his revolution, or transitus, shall offend any of those radicall promissors in the geniture.]
1644 W. Lilly Englands Propheticall Merline 8 If the transit of Saturnus without the assistance or strength of other malignant Promittors doth afflict any Hylegiacall place or places, he aspecteth either with Quadrature or Opposition in the Genitures of private persons.
1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. (at cited word) The transits of the ☽ are said to cause all the daily passing events of a man's life.
1919 M. Heindel Simplified Sci. Astrol. (ed. 4) 170 Next in importance are the transits of the Superior planets through the houses.
2005 Mountain Astrologer Feb. 9/1 The Neptune and Pluto transits nevertheless suggest a fundamental change in the U.S. attitude toward foreign military involvement.
6. Astronomy.
a. The passage of a celestial object (esp. Mercury or Venus) across the sun's disk, or (in later use) of a natural satellite or its shadow across the disk of the planet it orbits. In early use sometimes also: the passing or occultation of a fixed star by a planet or the moon, or of another planet by the moon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > transit
transit1665
1665 V. Wing Examen Anstronomiæ Carolinæ sig. A3v In that remarkable transit of Venus sub sole, juxta Horizontem, her Refraction from the Sun might neer æqualize her Parallax.
1670 J. Flamstead in Philos. Trans. 1669 (Royal Soc.) 4 1110 Let me desire those, who have fit..Instruments, to observe this Transit, and how far the Star may stand from the Limb of the Moon.
1769 J. Cook Jrnl. 1 June (1955) I. 97 This day I sent Lieutenant Gore in the Long-boat to York Island..to observe the Transit of Venus.
1868 W. Lockyer & J. N. Lockyer tr. A. Guillemin Heavens (ed. 3) iii. ii. i. 478 The value of the Sun's distance at present received has been deduced from the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769.
1972 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 82 427 A transit of the shadow of Titan across Saturn's disk.
2016 Guardian (Nexis) 9 May (Sci. section) Our readers have been sharing their images of the transit of Mercury.
b. The passage of a star or other celestial object across the meridian, esp. that which takes place as a star attains culmination (culmination n. 1).Stars transit the meridian twice each day. The star's upper transit occurs when it attains its greatest altitude (relative to the horizon), the other transit being called its lower transit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > reach meridian > passage
transit1674
1674 R. Hooke Attempt to prove Motion of Earth 25 The third night following I put the East side or E North, and observe the transit of the same Star over the Meridian.
1763 Philos. Trans. 1762 (Royal Soc.) 52 644 Saturday noon October 16th, I set a pendulum clock to solar time by the Sun's transit over the meridian.
1834 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. vii. 61 While observing transits of the fixed stars across the meridian at Cayenne.
1934 Motor Boating June 82/2 When Polaris is at lower transit, Spica..is at upper transit.
2011 Metrologica 48 133 Observing the actual clock time of the star's transit and comparing that time with the time it was supposed to be there provides a clock correction.
c. As a shortening of the names of various devices and instruments: (in Astronomy) a transit circle, instrument, or telescope; (also, in Surveying) a transit compass; a transit theodolite. See Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1793 F. Wollaston in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 134 This method of reading off has..been applied already with great success to different instruments; but I do not know that it has ever yet been adapted to the transit.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 122/2 Such an account of the transit as will enable any one to use it with tolerable success.
1897 Edinb. Rev. July 66 The institution, furnished only with a transit when he took it in charge.
1951 W. W. Elliott & E. R. C. Miles College Math. (ed. 2) xii. 167 The engineer uses a transit to measure angles.
1985 D. Conner Canada: Building our Nation iii. iii. 191 He used a transit to measure the curves in the route.
2008 J. Ratcliff Transit of Venus Enterprise Victorian Brit. (2016) v. 98 To set a sturdy foundation for the transit, transit clock, altazimuth and photoheliograph, the hard rock of the hills had to be cut into and cement foundations lain.
Phrases
in transit [after classical Latin in transitū] : in the course of moving or transporting, or of being moved or transported.
ΚΠ
1788 P. Stockdale Ximenes iv. v. 89 Check the lightning's fiery wings, In transit through a still, and lowering sky.
1800 P. Colquhoun Treat. Commerce & Police R. Thames viii. 259 Property..stationary on the Quays or in transit on the River.
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native II. iii. vii. 202 Wildeve was mortified by the discovery that the matter in transit was money.
1901 Philadelphia Med. Jrnl. 5 Oct. 558/2 The vessel might possibly have carried the yellow fever mosquito in transit.
1968 Bull. Entomol. Res. 57 646 This specimen was most unfortunately fragmented in transit to Hamburg.
2005 N. Gershenfeld FAB 86 Roughly a third of Ghana's food spoils in transit for want of refrigeration.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 3), as transit depot, transit programme, transit road, etc.
ΚΠ
1835 True Sun 30 July The transfer of foreign merchandize..is permitted from the transit depot.
1838 Morning Post 21 July 6/3 Regulations shall be adopted..as to the transit roads, and the necessary measures taken to ensure the prevention of smuggling.
1903 Expositor May 335 Jerusalem had therefore no natural command of the transit-traffic.
1950 Railway Age 1 Apr. 40/2 Many plants are shipped direct to the transit warehouses.
1953 N.Y. Times 3 Jan. 1/7 Scholars will report at 10 A.M. during the bus strike so as to relieve transit congestion in the morning rush hour.
1967 Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. 8/2 Legislature to launch a 10-year, $300 million urban transit program.
1989 Toronto Star (Nexis) 23 Dec. (Sat. 2nd ed.) (Insight section) c5 Another suggestion to simply run a transit line through the Rouge was also examined, but rejected as being impractical.
2010 Diesel Fuel News 7 June 10/1 Caterpillar has invested about $2 billion since 2006 to grow our profitable rail and transit businesses.
C2.
transit authority n. a company or body responsible for public transport.rare in British use.
ΚΠ
1859 Bombay Times 13 Aug. 516/4 A notification has been received from the Transit authorities to the effect that His Highness the Viceroy of Egypt has authorized an agreement being drawn up.
1971 Rand Daily Mail (Johannesburg) 27 Mar. 11/1 White bus drivers employed by a transit authority in an unnamed South African city.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Aug. a7 (advt.) In Seattle, the local transit authority has begun taking delivery of 235 GM hybrid-powered buses.
transit camp n. a camp for the temporary accommodation of people such as military personnel, refugees, or prisoners of war.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > camp or encampment > [noun] > type of
ordu1673
chantier1823
douar1829
outcamp1844
log-camp1858
lumbering-camp1858
yayla1864
refugee camp1865
cow-camp1873
gypsyry1873
work camp1877
tent town1878
logging-camp1880
lumber-camp1882
town camp1885
base camp1887
line-camp1888
wanigan1890
isolation camp1891
tent village1899
sheep-camp1911
safari camp1912
jungle1914
transit camp1919
Siwash camp1922
health camp1925
tent city1934
fly camp1939
bivvy1961
1919 Sunday State Jrnl. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1 June c3/1 Big transit camps sprang up on the desert all around Port Said, before the war was very old.
1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear ii. ii. 144 The place was as comfortless as a transit camp.
1946 E. Linklater Private Angelo xiii. 151 [He] made his escape..from a transit camp for prisoners of war near Bari.
1956 A. J. Wallis & C. F. Blair Thunder Above (1959) xi. 113 There were 25,000 East German refugees in West Berlin, living in transit camps built to accommodate 13,000.
2004 S. Mehta Maximum City 46 The family abandoned the apartment and stayed in a transit camp for three days.
transit circle n. Astronomy (now historical) a transit telescope equipped with a large graduated circle, by which the right ascension and declination of a star may be determined by observation of it in transit (sense 6b); a meridian circle n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > transit instrument > [noun]
transit instrument1744
transitory1744
transit circle1793
meridian circle1809
1793 F. Wollaston in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 133 (heading) A Description of a Transit Circle, for determining the Place of celestial Objects as they pass the Meridian.
1897 Edinb. Rev. July 68 In 1851 a new transit circle, of great optical power and enormous mechanical stability, superseded Troughton's masterpiece of 1812.
2015 telegraph.co.uk (Nexis) 13 Aug. The Prime Meridian was set in 1884 using the large Transit Circle telescope built by Sir George Biddell Airy, the 7th Astronomer Royal.
transit clock n. Astronomy (now historical and rare) an astronomical clock used with a transit telescope in the observation of transits (sense 6b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > transit instrument > [noun] > part
transit clock1767
transiter1902
1767 N. Maskelyne Acct. Going John Harrison's Watch 4 I, most days, wound up and compared the watch with the transit clock of the Royal Observatory myself.
1914 D. Gill & S. S. Hough Results Meridian Observ. Stars 1905 to 1908 p. xxii Till 1908 May 2 the transit clock in use with both transit-circles was Dent No. 39714.
2008 J. Ratcliff Transit of Venus Enterprise Victorian Brit. (2016) v. 98 To set a sturdy foundation for the transit, transit clock, altazimuth and photoheliograph, the hard rock of the hills had to be cut into and cement foundations lain.
transit compass n. Surveying a type of compass, often equipped with a short telescope, in which the markers for East and West are reversed, allowing for the accurate measurement of bearings.
ΚΠ
1839 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 9 (advt. section in front matter) Manufacturers of..Levels, Goniometers, Transit Compasses, Surveyor's Compasses, Circular Protractors, Barometers, and all kinds of Nautical Instruments.
1929 Wisconsin Mag. Hist. 13 44 If one has the field notes of the government survey one does not have to make use of the transit compass to determine this variation.
2003 G. J. Borradaile Statistics Earth Sci. Data x. 254/2 The Japanese model is dual-purpose and retains all the surveying functions of a traditional transit compass.
transit duty n. a tax levied on goods passing through a country.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > duty on transport of goods > [noun]
land-leave?c1357
portage1588
carriage1610
portage duty1640
caphara1701
transit duty1753
pass duty1862
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. v. 20 The transit duty in Russia is 3 per cent. on the value.
1809 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 11 Nov. 730 The transit duties on the goods thus imported or exported.
1905 McClure's Mag. Apr. 652/1 The obvious intention of that transit duty, levied only through freight and through passengers, was to relieve the road of a tax.
2001 Nepal: Recent Econ. Developments (Internat. Monetary Fund) 15 Nepal's traffic in transit through Indian territory is exempt from..all transit duties and other charges.
transit instrument n. Astronomy a telescope mounted so that it rotates vertically about a fixed horizontal axis, used for measuring the altitudes of stars and timing their transit across the meridian; = transit telescope n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > transit instrument > [noun]
transit instrument1744
transitory1744
transit circle1793
meridian circle1809
1744 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 43 92 The right Ascension of the Comet by the Transit Instrument at Sherborn was found to be 5° 48' 1″.
1910 L. S. Smith Theory & Pract. Surv. (ed. 17) xiv. 594 Such an instrument is designed especially for astronomical observations for latitude and zenith, but may also be used as a meridian or transit instrument.
2013 D. L. Rabinowitz in W. F. van Altena Astrometry for Astrophysics xv. 235 Charge-coupled device cameras were first used in drift-scan mode on ground-based telescopes beginning in the 1980s with the CCD Transit Instrument.
transit lounge n. a waiting room or venue for those stopping en route to a destination, esp. a waiting room at an airport for passengers stopping between flights.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > airport > terminal building > lounge for passengers
transit lounge1944
departure1948
arrival lounge1949
V.I.P. lounge1967
1944 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. 15/4 USO [United Service Organization] has 1,900 clubs in the United States, 155 smaller centers, 133 transit lounges and 137 mobile and maneuver service units.
1962 J. Fleming When I grow Rich iii. 43 After the arrival of the jet, the transit lounge had filled up with people.
1983 Jetaway (Air New Zealand) Sept. 28/2 Transit lounge for 500 passengers who are transferring flights or have no need to go through customs.
2017 Today (Singapore) (Nexis) 28 Dec. 1 I empathise with passengers in the transit lounges who have to wait long hours for their connecting flights.
transit man n. North American Surveying a surveyor who uses a transit-compass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveyor > using specific instruments
leveller1834
scaler1840
transit man1857
plane-tabler1878
tape-man1900
1857 G. L. Vose Handbk. Railroad Constr. vi. 111 The assistants of the resident engineer are a leveller and transit man.
1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 8 May 12/1 Harry, a young transit man, had his bed roll next to the Bella Coola trapper.
2007 G. Hoyle Northern Horizons of G. Blanchet ii. 40 As transit man, Guy had to carry the delicate instrument in its heavy protective case.
transit-oriented development n. urban development or town planning in which residential, commercial, and leisure areas are built within walking distance of public transport services.
ΚΠ
1964 4,000,000 by 2000 (Joint Program Twin Cities Metrop. Area) 24 Transit-oriented development put a permanent stamp on Chicago in its most significant development years.
1995 Environmental Health Perspectives 103 72/2 Transit-oriented development that provides housing, jobs..and other basic human needs in close proximity to one another helps foster a sense of community.
2006 A. Steffen et al. Worldchanging (2008) 266/1 A local developer started turning what might have been a permanently blighted no-go zone..into a model of transit-oriented development.
transit pass n. (a) a warrant permitting the passage of goods through a place; (b) North American a pass allowing travel on public transport.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > importing and exporting > [noun] > customs documents
cocket1425
transire1599
bill of sight1662
bill of store1670
sufferance1670
passport1714
pricking-note1846
transit pass1862
certificate of origin1886
dandy-note-
1862 North-China Herald 4 Oct. 159/1 How is every barrier throughout the eighteen provinces to be supplied at once with Transit passes and such like documents?
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Sept. 7/3 Less..than it cost foreigners to bring it to Pakhio under transit-pass.
1973 N.Y. Times 20 May iv. 6/5 There will be no funds for student transit passes.
2011 New Nation (Bangladesh) (Nexis) 19 Oct. This country is allowing duty free, tariff free and highly subsidized transportation of Indian goods through Bangladesh under a controversial transit pass.
transit passenger n. (a) a passenger stopping at or passing through a place en route to a destination, esp. a passenger making a brief stop at an airport between flights; (b) North American a passenger on public transport.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > aircraft passengers > one stopping in transit to another destination
transit passenger1855
1855 Let. 18 July in Daily South Carolinian (Columbia, S. Carolina) 23 Aug. Transit passengers need no passports. If they wish to come on shore, and remain until their vessels are about to leave, they can do so by obtaining a landing permit, price $1.
1936 Irish Times 14 Aug. 9/4 The building will..include a restaurant, a hotel for transit passengers and one for pilots.
1972 J. Potter Going West 17 Transit passengers were encouraged to alight for the stopover.
1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 28 Jan. Assaults on transit passengers causing bodily harm decreased by eight from 46 to 38.
2018 Sarkaritel (Dubai) (Nexis) 13 Feb. Dubai International Airport has planned to offer temporary visas to transit passengers.
transit room n. Astronomy (in an observatory) a room equipped with instruments used for observing the transit of stars across the meridian.
ΚΠ
1762 Philos. Trans. 1761 (Royal Soc.) 52 178 I carried thither..an astronomical clock, made by Mr. Shelton, and the fellow of that which was last made for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, and which stands in the transit-room.
1861 J. Nichol in Mem. (1896) 37 As regular as the transit-room clock.
2017 W. Orchiston J. Tebbutt viii. 214 The main entrance to the observatory was via the eastern end of the transit room.
transit system n. chiefly North American a transport system, spec. a network of public passenger transport within urban areas.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [noun] > system or collection of lines of transportation
transit system1850
overground1966
network1974
Metrolink1983
1850 Morning Chron. 19 Sept. 5/6 The entire transit system of Great Britain—with all its railroads, turnpike roads, canals, and navigable rivers—converges on London.
1929 Life 4 Jan. 18/3 Statistics..show that 3,235,200,000 people use the transit system of New York City every year.
1966 Design News 12 Oct. 20/2 The..ticket serves as a key to enter and leave the transit system via the passenger gates.
2015 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 13 Aug. 41/1 The visionary mayor..launched the world's best transit system.
transit telescope n. Astronomy a telescope mounted so that it rotates vertically about a fixed horizontal axis, used for measuring the altitudes of stars and timing their transit across the meridian.Cf. transit circle n., transit instrument n., meridian circle n. 2.
ΚΠ
1743 J. Bradley Memorandum 1 Aug. in Misc. Wks. & Corr. (1832) p. lv This day I put a shorter eyeglass into the transit telescope.., so that the telescope magnifies now about forty times.
1853 National Mag. Sept. 288/2 The signal-giver at Greenwich had the means of observing the passage of a star across the field of the transit telescope and of giving signal at the same time.
2002 L. Belkora Minding the Heavens v. 124 A typical transit telescope (figure 5.2) rotates around a horizontal axis and can point only along a north-south line.
transit theodolite n. Surveying a theodolite equipped with a short telescope that is capable of rotating through 360 degrees vertically.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveying instruments > for measuring angles
theodolite?a1560
topographical instrument?a1560
plain table1607
circumferentor1610
diopter1613
plane table1670
circumferencera1687
graphometer1696
semicircle1701
transit theodolite1824
dioptric1849
planchette1858
theodolite-goniometer1909
gyro-theodolite1950
1824 Trans. Soc. Encouragem. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 42 p. xlvii To Mr. P. W. Barlow, Woolwich, for a perspective view of a transit theodolite, the large Silver Medal.
1900 Nature 11 Oct. 571/2 Suggestions on possible methods of utilising existing transit theodolites for tacheometric work.
2007 Area 39 280/1 The majority had learnt either the sextant or the transit theodolite and the prismatic compass or plane-table.
transit time n. (a) the time it takes to pass across or through something; the amount of time spent in transit; (b) Medicine the time taken for food or other ingested material to pass through the entire gastrointestinal tract or a specific part of it.
ΚΠ
1850 Astron. Jrnl. 1 121/2 The clock-errors given by the comparison-stars are reduced to the transit-time of α Virginis.
1945 R. Golden Radiol. Exam. Small Intestine iv. 37 The transit time of the infant's small intestine averages slower than that of the adult.
1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. vii. 27 Transit time is a large factor in considering the upper frequency limitation of electron tubes.
2013 M. Roach Gulp xvi. 293 In a 1992 University of Munich study, nine sessions of ‘colonic massage’ failed to speed colon transit time in constipated subjects and nonconstipated controls.
transit trade n. trade involving the passage of goods through a country.
ΚΠ
1783 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 X. 117 She had thought proper to draw some little revenue from this branch of exports in the course of her transit trade.
1803 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 243 Those..nations whose wealth has been promoted by the transit trade.
1852 W. J. Conybeare & J. S. Howson Life & Epist. St. Paul II. xxiii. 317 The valley of the Nile was the channel of an active transit trade in spices, dyes, jewels, and perfumes.
2017 Frontier Star (Pakistan) (Nexis) 27 Dec. We will not allow India to use our soil for transit trade with Afghanistan.
transit van n. †(a) a covered horse-drawn wagon used in the desert (obsolete); (b) (a proprietary name for) a medium-sized van, used for transporting goods and people (chiefly British).
ΚΠ
1846 ‘Mrs. E. Montauban’ Year & Day in East iii. 37 The horses employed in the transit vans are very badly broken in.
1851 John Bull 29 Sept. 622/3 The new Shirriff of Mecca..left on the 30th in the transit vans for Suez.
1962 Financial Times 10 Apr. 5/6 Ford of Cologne has increased its range of ‘Transit’ vans and baby buses.
2001 H. Collins No Smoke i. 9 Jake, still leaning against the old transit van parked a few feet from the bookies, looks towards the men.
transit visa n. a visa permitting a person to pass through a country but not to stay there.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > authorization to travel to, from, or in a country > [noun] > document > note in
visa1831
visé1842
transit visa1920
1920 Scotsman 20 Oct. 11/4 That the transit visa be immediately made effective at a cost not exceeding one shilling for people going from one country through another to a third.
1925 C. Connolly Let. May in Romantic Friendship (1975) 81 I..had got as far as sending my passport up for some transit visas.
1979 W. H. Canaway Solid Gold Buddha xx. 134 Miller went to the Burmese Embassy..and got his transit visa.
2005 Global Aug. 44/1 Single entries are £30 while transit visas, which are valid for six days, are £10.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
transitv.
/ˈtranzɪt/, /ˈtrɑːnzɪt/, /ˈtransɪt/, /ˈtrɑːnsɪt/, U.S. /ˈtrænzət/ 1. intransitive. To traverse, cross; to move away, depart. Chiefly with adverb or prepositional phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)]
to come overeOE
passc1300
to pass byc1390
overwend?a1400
to go over1415
to pass througha1425
overdrawa1450
to make over1488
to get overa1500
transita1500
transire1592
to make through1606
transpass1626
to get through1694
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)]
wendeOE
i-wite971
ashakec975
shakeOE
to go awayOE
witea1000
afareOE
agoOE
atwendOE
awayOE
to wend awayOE
awendOE
gangOE
rimeOE
flitc1175
to fare forthc1200
depart?c1225
part?c1225
partc1230
to-partc1275
biwitec1300
atwitea1325
withdrawa1325
to draw awayc1330
passc1330
to turn one's (also the) backc1330
lenda1350
begonec1370
remuea1375
voidc1374
removec1380
to long awaya1382
twinc1386
to pass one's wayc1390
trussc1390
waive1390
to pass out ofa1398
avoida1400
to pass awaya1400
to turn awaya1400
slakec1400
wagc1400
returnc1405
to be gonea1425
muck1429
packc1450
recede1450
roomc1450
to show (a person) the feetc1450
to come offc1475
to take one's licence1475
issue1484
devoidc1485
rebatea1500
walka1500
to go adieua1522
pikea1529
to go one's ways1530
retire?1543
avaunt1549
to make out1558
trudge1562
vade?1570
fly1581
leave1593
wag1594
to get off1595
to go off1600
to put off1600
shog1600
troop1600
to forsake patch1602
exit1607
hence1614
to give offa1616
to take off1657
to move off1692
to cut (also slip) the painter1699
sheera1704
to go about one's business1749
mizzle1772
to move out1792
transit1797–1803
stump it1803
to run away1809
quit1811
to clear off1816
to clear out1816
nash1819
fuff1822
to make (take) tracks (for)1824
mosey1829
slope1830
to tail out1830
to walk one's chalks1835
to take away1838
shove1844
trot1847
fade1848
evacuate1849
shag1851
to get up and get1854
to pull out1855
to cut (the) cable(s)1859
to light out1859
to pick up1872
to sling one's Daniel or hook1873
to sling (also take) one's hook1874
smoke1893
screw1896
shoot1897
voetsak1897
to tootle off1902
to ship out1908
to take a (run-out, walk-out, etc.) powder1909
to push off1918
to bugger off1922
biff1923
to fuck off1929
to hit, split or take the breeze1931
to jack off1931
to piss offa1935
to do a mick1937
to take a walk1937
to head off1941
to take a hike1944
moulder1945
to chuff off1947
to get lost1947
to shoot through1947
skidoo1949
to sod off1950
peel1951
bug1952
split1954
poop1961
mugger1962
frig1965
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 415 The porter is the worlde; and right as by the porter so by the worlde we may transite.
1595 G. Chapman Ouids Banquet of Sence sig. B4v As Intellects themselues transite to eache intelligible quallitie.
1657 R. Turner tr. Paracelsus Of Chymical Transmutation 31 That beginning to transite into corruption, it waxeth black.
1775 ‘J. Collier’ Musical Trav. (ed. 2) 68 I then transided to the gentleman himself.
1797–1803 J. Foster Jrnl. in Life & Corr. J. Foster (1846) I. 173 Interesting ideas..are the comets of the mind; they transit off.
1852 N. L. Walker Life in Spirit (1853) xiii. 212 One or two transit off from our Divinity Halls annually.
1926 Sioux County (Iowa) Index 2 Sept. Owing to the large ratio of machinery space in relation to gross tonnage of this vessel..it transited free of tolls.
1972 Voice of Nation (Bangkok) 22 Nov. 2/3 We are transiting from economic unawareness to economic alertness.
2015 Foreign Direct Investm. June Travelling among the key cities of eastern Poland is time consuming, inconvenient and almost always requires transiting through Warsaw.
2. transitive. To pass through or across (something); to traverse, cross.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [verb (transitive)] > progress or go through
transit1614
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > lie across [verb (transitive)]
thwart1413
transverse1430
overcrossa1450
overthwartc1450
traverse1555
cross1577
intercourse1597
transit1890
1614 R. Brathwait Schollers Medley 68 These vain Historians make strange obiects vnto vs, of places impossible, transiting whole Countries.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 249 I have..transited Decimals and Astronomicals, and shall now apply myself to overlook Logarithmes.
1852 Morning Chron. 14 Apr. 6/2 The post-office charges on letters addressed to and from England, Belgium, &c., and transiting Prussia.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Mar. 3/1 Another line which would transit Germany, Russia,..Afghanistan, and India.
1922 Pacific Ports Aug. 114/1 Of the vessels transiting the canal free of tolls, 12 were noncommercial vessels.
1984 Listener 11 Oct. 13/3 We set off with blithe hearts to transit the world's greatest open-air museum.
2014 C. Garrad Petun to Wyandot viii. 398 Herds of deer transited the country twice annually.
3. transitive. Astrology. Of a planet, the sun, or the moon: to pass across (a sign, house (house n.1 11), or other significant point or area of an astrological chart). Cf. transit n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > planetary movement > move [verb] > transit
transit1647
1647 W. Lilly Christian Astrol. lxvii. 409 When the unfortunate Anareta transits the degree ascending.
1756 Ἐφημερίς sig. C6 The grand Superior Planet Saturn hath been this 3 Year transiting the corporal Sign Capricorn, by direct and retrograde Motion.
1894 G. Wilde & J. Dodson Treat. Natal Astrol. xlix. 129 Each birthday the Sun transits the place where it was at birth.
2003 Vanity Fair Mar. 348/1 With Saturn transiting your 2nd house you'd have to be an idiot to walk away from a good offer on principle alone.
4. Astronomy.
a. transitive. Of a star or another celestial object: to cross (the meridian). Also intransitive. Cf. transit n. 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > move [verb (transitive)] > traverse
roll1667
transit1704
transit1738
1704 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 24 1583 The Pole-Star in our Northern Hemisphere, is most convenient, because it maketh but a small circle round the Pole, and therefore moveth slower, and consequently is longer in transiting the Meridian.
1797 M. Bryan Compend. Syst. Astron. 272 The Sun transits the meridian each day at noon.
1878 J. N. Lockyer Stargazing 354 The value of the divisions of the micrometer screw having been previously determined by allowing an equatorial star to transit.
1987 P. Moore Astron. Encycl. 254/2 Repsold..first used a travelling web, moved by a micrometer screw that kept the travelling wire on top of the star as it transited.
1996 J. B. Kaler Ever-changing Sky (2002) ii. 43 A star must cross or transit the meridian twice a day.
b. transitive. Of a celestial object (esp. Mercury or Venus): to pass across (the sun's disk). In later use also: (of a natural satellite or its shadow) to pass across (the disk of a planet). Cf. transit n. 6a.In quot. 1738, describing a hypothetical view of the inner solar system from Jupiter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > move [verb (transitive)] > traverse
roll1667
transit1704
transit1738
1738 W. Deane Descr. Copernican Syst. 53 The Jovial Astronomer will see Mars, the Earth, Venus and Mercury below him; Mars will never be more than 18 Degrees from him, and that Planet being small, reflects but a weak Light so near the Sun it cannot be visible; and the other three can never be seen, unless as Spots transiting over the Sun's Disk.
1833 J. F. W. Herschel Astronomy viii. 256 Rendering the planet invisible, unless..where it transits the sun's disc and appears on it as a black spot.
1870 R. A. Proctor Other Worlds than Ours viii. 184 The markings seen on the third satellite, when transiting Jupiter's disc.
1967 Icarus 7 169/1 The comet transited the solar disc on May 19.
2018 D. Hawksett Sun v. 33 Both astronomers watched Venus transit the Sun and measured its precise path.
5. transitive. To convey or move from one place or person to another; to transport.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [verb (transitive)]
haveeOE
ferryOE
weighOE
bearOE
take?a1160
weve13..
carry1348
passa1350
tow1391
geta1393
convey1393
winc1400
transport1483
set1487
convoy1500
traduce1535
port1566
repair1612
vehiculate1628
transmute1683
transplant1769
gallant1806
transit1859
inveigh1878
waltz1884
sashay1928
conduct-
1859 Monetary Times, & Bankers' Circular 4 June 1/2 The several officers authorised to receive subscriptions will..transit them (free of every expense whatever) to the Accountant-General at Fort William.
1903 Bull. Amer. Inst. Bank Clerks 1 Feb. 27/2 The trusses will carry all the loads and transit them to the piers.
1986 N.Y. Times 10 Aug. iv. 1/1 Zambia and Zimbabwe..transit most of their imports through South African ports.
2015 T. Barkawi in O. J. Sending et al. Diplomacy & making World Politics ii. 61 Iraq..is merely transiting arms, not fighting a war.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1440
v.a1500