transmigration

American  

[trans-mahy-grey-shuhn, tranz-] / ˌtræns maɪˈgreɪ ʃən, ˌtrænz- /

noun

1. the act of transmigrating.

2. the passage of a soul after death into another body; metempsychosis.

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Etymology

Origin of transmigration

1250–1300; Middle English transmigracion < Late Latin trānsmigrātiōn- (stem of trānsmigrātiō ) removal. See trans-, migration

Explanation

Transmigration is the movement of a soul into another body after death. Transmigration is related to reincarnation. If you believe your cat is your reincarnated grandmother, then you believe in transmigration. The pieces of this word might look familiar — trans means “across,” as in transport or transcontinental, and migration is the act of moving, like birds flying south. Transmigration used to just mean what it sounds like, as in “move from one place to another,” but later it took on the deeper meaning of a soul moving into another body after death. Various religions are associated with different types of transmigration.

Example Sentences

Musicologists have discovered the origin of the rhythmic patterns of what became this Baroque era vehicle for the transmigration of souls in dances carried by enslaved Africans to 16th century Spain.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2025

You just need to think that transmigration is possible.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2024

He had forgotten the names of some of his dogs, she said, and where his bedroom was, but “we had this high-level conversation about the transmigration of souls.”

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2022

Pythagoreans also believed in the transmigration of souls, an idea that Plato would adopt.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

The story of Pythagoras and the transmigration of souls.

From The World's Best Books : A Key to the Treasures of Literature by Parsons, Frank