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

But this depends on the version of transmigration you believe in.

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

This informs the belief that an individual will bear a future burden for harms committed in the present through the process of samsara, or transmigration and rebirth of the soul.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

“Infinite” may last a finite 106 minutes, but transmigration of souls or no transmigration of souls, life is too short.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2021

He admitted that he could never again accept the Hindu doctrine of transmigration.

From The Outcaste by Penny, F. E.