transliterate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transliterate
First recorded 1860–65; trans- + Latin lītter(a), litter(a) letter 1 + -ate 1
Explanation
To transliterate is to rewrite something in a different alphabet. When you transliterate the name Пётр from Russian into English, it's generally spelled Peter. Transliterate comes from two Latin roots, trans, or "across," and littera, "letter or character." It's related to translate, with an important distinction: when you translate something, you interpret its meaning and put that in a different language. When you transliterate, you're simply changing the alphabet in which a word is written, so that it can be read or pronounced in a different language.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dodson decided to essentially transliterate the line, despite the grammatical awkwardness it introduces in English: “In the depths of the virgin-forest was born Macunaíma, hero of our people.”
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023
The best an English translation can do is to transliterate the Greek letters—“Ototototoi”—or go with something like “Woe is me!” or “Alas!”
From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019
Maybe there was too much internal debate on how to best transliterate it.
From The Guardian • Feb. 19, 2013
Though most of the world’s languages have no written form, people are beginning to transliterate their mother tongues into the alphabet of a national language.
From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2011
Haug shall transliterate for me the grammatical forms into your alphabet.
From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
