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

Suppose transmigration is true and you kill the animal that happens to have your loved one's soul.

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

His search for self and spiritual transmigration led to his downfall and has to become a cautionary tale.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2021

The followers of Lao-tze believe in a spiritual world, in spiritual manifestations, and in the transmigration of souls.

From The Student's Mythology A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies by White, Catherine Ann