transliterate

[trans-lit-uh-reyt, tranz-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR transliterate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), trans·lit·er·at·ed, trans·lit·er·at·ing.

to change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language: to transliterate the Greek Χ as ch.

Origin of transliterate

1860–65; trans- + Latin līter(a) letter¹ + -ate¹

Related formstrans·lit·er·a·tion, nountrans·lit·er·a·tor, noun

Can be confusedtranslate transliterate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for transliteration

explanation, rendering, version, adaptation, rendition, reading, transcription, elucidation, gloss, crib, construction, restatement, key, paraphrase, simplification, decoding, rephrasing, transliteration, metaphrase

Examples from the Web for transliteration

Historical Examples of transliteration

Position your mouse over the line to see the transliteration.
The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Longer passages have the transliteration immediately following.
Epic and Romance
W. P. Ker
Position your mouse over the word to see the transliteration.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820
John Keats
A transliteration is provided, hover your mouse over it to see it.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems
Walter Savage Landor
If your system allows for it, hovering over them will show a transliteration.
A Romantic Young Lady
Robert Grant

British Dictionary definitions for transliteration

transliterate

verb

(tr) to transcribe (a word, etc, in one alphabet) into corresponding letters of another alphabetthe Greek word λογοσ can be transliterated as ``logos''

Derived Formstransliteration, nountransliterator, noun

Word Origin for transliterate

C19: trans- + -literate, from Latin līttera letter

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 transliteration

1861, from trans- + literation.

transliterate

"to write a word in the characters of another alphabet," 1861, apparently coined by German philologist Max Müller (1823-1900), from trans- "across" (see trans-) + Latin littera (also litera) "letter, character" (see letter).