transit
[ tran-sit, -zit ]
/ ˈtræn sɪt, -zɪt /
noun
verb (used with object), tran·sit·ed, tran·sit·ing.
verb (used without object), tran·sit·ed, tran·sit·ing.
to pass over or through something; make a transit.
Astronomy.
to make a transit across a meridian, celestial body, etc.
Origin of transit
1400–50; late Middle English (noun and v.) < Latin
trānsitus a going across, passage, equivalent to
trānsi-, variant stem of
trānsīre to cross (
trāns-
trans- +
-īre to go) +
-tus suffix of v. action
Words nearby transit
Definition for transit (2 of 2)
sic transit gloria mundi
[ seek trahn-sit gloh-ri-ah moo n-dee; English sik tran-sit glawr-ee-uh muhn-dahy, -dee, glohr-, -zit ]
/ sik ˈtrɑn sɪt ˈgloʊ rɪˌɑ ˈmʊn di; English sɪk ˈtræn sɪt ˈglɔr i ə ˈmʌn daɪ, -di, ˈgloʊr-, -zɪt /
Latin.
thus passes away the glory of this world.
Example sentences from the Web for transit
British Dictionary definitions for transit (1 of 2)
transit
/ (ˈtrænsɪt, ˈtrænz-) /
noun
verb
Derived forms of transit
transitable, adjectiveWord Origin for transit
C15: from Latin
transitus a going over, from
transīre to pass over; see
transient
British Dictionary definitions for transit (2 of 2)
sic transit gloria mundi
/ Latin (ˈsɪk ˈtrænsɪt ˈɡlɔːrɪˌɑː ˈmʊndiː) /
thus passes the glory of the world
Scientific definitions for transit
transit
[ trăn′sĭt ]
The passage of a smaller celestial body or its shadow across the disk of a larger celestial body. As observed from Earth, Mercury and Venus are the only planets of the solar system that make transits of the Sun, because they are the only planets with orbits that lie between Earth and the Sun. Mercury makes an average of 13 transits of the Sun each century. Transits of Venus across the Sun are much rarer, with only 7 of them having occurred between 1639 and 2004. In contrast, transits of Jupiter's moons across its disk are common occurrences. Compare occultation.
The passage of a celestial body across the celestial meridian (the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and an observer's zenith). For any observer, the object is at its highest in the sky at its transit of the observer's meridian. See more at celestial meridian.
Cultural definitions for transit
Sic transit gloria mundi
[ (sik tran-sit glawr-ee-uh moon-dee) ]
Latin for “Thus passes away the glory of the world”; worldly things do not last.
Idioms and Phrases with transit
sic transit gloria mundi
Nothing on earth is permanent, as in His first three novels were bestsellers and now he can't even find an agent—sic transit gloria mundi. This expression, Latin for “Thus passes the glory of the world,” has been used in English since about 1600, and is familiar enough so that it is sometimes abbreviated to sic transit.