transit

noun, verb — 15 senses

transit

nounalso spelled Transit

UK, US /ˈtɹæn.zɪt/ · UK /ˈtɹɑːn.zɪt/

Etymology From French, from Latin transire (“to go across, pass in, pass through”), from trans (“over”) + ire (“to go”).

8 senses
  1. 1The act of passing over, across, or through something.
  2. 2The conveyance of people or goods from one place to…
  3. 3Any form of transport that can be used by a member of…
  4. 4The passage of a celestial body or other object across…
  5. 5The passage of a celestial body in the horoscope, e.g.…
  6. 6A surveying instrument rather like a theodolite that…
  7. 7An imaginary line between two objects whose positions…
  8. 8A Ford Transit van, see Transit.
1

The act of passing over, across, or through something.

  • In France you are now […] in the transit from one form of government to another.1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
  • In the hollow by the park wall it appeared again, distinctly; and here it was plain the transit of the wall had been made, for the traces of the mud were evident enough upon its surface, and the mortar at top was displaced, and a little tuft of grass in the mud, left by the clodded shoesole.1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
1 more example
  • Incoherency had overtaken his speech, but he was unaware of it. Nor did he connect the smashing of a bottle with the generous curve of his transit.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 117:
2

The conveyance of people or goods from one place to another, especially on a public transportation system; the vehicles used for such conveyance.

  • the transit of goods through a country
3

Canada, US Any form of transport that can be used by a member of public (who usually pays a fare), as opposed to private ownership of e.g. cars; short form of public transit or mass transit

  • I always take transit to work.
4

Astronomy, Natural sciences The passage of a celestial body or other object across the observer's meridian, or across the disk of a larger celestial body.

5

Astrology, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences The passage of a celestial body in the horoscope, e.g. through a section or in relation to a specific important point in someone's birth chart.

6

A surveying instrument rather like a theodolite that measures horizontal and vertical angles.

7

An imaginary line between two objects whose positions are known. When the navigator sees one object directly in front of the other, the navigator knows that his position is on the transit.

8

Ireland, UK A Ford Transit van, see Transit.

  • Beufort road, Birkenhead, about 17.15 June 19 2013, white transit overtakes and swerves left into junction almost taking my front wheel.
Derived terms
antitransit, bowel transit time, bus rapid transit, colonic transit time, fabrication-in-transit, interval transit time, in transit, light rail transit, microtransit, milling-in-transit, nontransit, paratransit, protransit, rapid transit, transit bus, transit instrument, transit lane, transit lounge, transitology, transit telescope, transit tetany, transitway

transit

verb

Etymology From French, from Latin transire (“to go across, pass in, pass through”), from trans (“over”) + ire (“to go”).

1

To pass over, across or through something.

2

To convey people or goods from one place to another, especially by public transport vehicles.

3

To use public transit.

At least Vancouver

  • I always transit to work.
4

To revolve an instrument about its horizontal axis so as to reverse its direction.

5

Astronomy, Natural sciences To make a transit.

6

Internet To carry communications traffic to and from a customer or another network on a compensation basis as opposed to peerage in which the traffic to and from another network is carried on an equivalency basis or without charge.

Related terms
transience, transiency, transient, transition, transitional, transitionary, transitionist, transitive, transitively, transitory

Transit

noun
1

UK A Ford Transit van.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for transit and Transit.

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