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definitions

transient

[ tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt ]
/ ˈtræn ʃənt, -ʒənt, -zi ənt /
|

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

  1. transhiatal esophagectomy,
  2. tranship,
  3. transhumance,
  4. transhumanism,
  5. transience,
  6. transient acantholytic dermatosis,
  7. transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy,
  8. transient ischemic attack,
  9. transient modulation,
  10. transient synovitis

Origin of transient

1590–1600; < Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre to pass by, literally, go across + -ent; see transeunt
SYNONYMS FOR transient
2 fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.
ANTONYMS FOR transient
2 permanent.
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for non-transient

transient

/ (ˈtrænzɪənt) /

adjective

for a short time only; temporary or transitory
philosophy a variant of transeunt

noun

a transient person or thing
physics a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit
Derived Formstransiently, adverbtransience or transiency, noun

Word Origin for transient

C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for non-transient

transient

adj.

c.1600, from Latin transiens (accusative transientem) "passing over or away," present participle of transire "cross over, pass away," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + ire "to go" (see ion). The noun is first attested 1650s; specific sense of "transient guest or boarder" first recorded 1880.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper