The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
TRANSIENT
transeunt, transient
(adjective) of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind
ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious
(adjective) lasting a very short time; “the ephemeral joys of childhood”; “a passing fancy”; “youth’s transient beauty”; “love is transitory but it is eternal”; “fugacious blossoms”
transient
(noun) (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load
transient
(noun) one who stays for only a short time; “transient laborers”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)
Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
Remaining for only a brief time.
(physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
(mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
Occasional; isolated; one-off
Passing through; passing from one person to another.
(music) Intermediate.
(philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.
Synonyms
• (passing): passing, transitory, temporary
• (brief): brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious
Antonyms
• (passing): permanent
• (brief): permanent, inveterate
• (mathematics): recurrent
• (philosophy): immanent
Noun
transient (plural transients)
Something which is transient.
(physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
(acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform which occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker
A homeless person.
Synonyms
• (traveller): itinerant, migrant, traveller
• (homeless person): homeless
Anagrams
• instanter, intranets
Source: Wiktionary
Tran"sient, a. Etym: [L. transiens, -entis, p. pr. of transire, transitum, to go or pass over. See Trance.]
1. Passing before the sight or perception, or, as it were, moving over or across a space or scene viewed, and then disappearing; hence, of short duration; not permanent; not lasting or durable; not stationary; passing; fleeting; brief; transitory; as, transient pleasure. "Measured this transient world." Milton.
2. Hasty; momentary; imperfect; brief; as, a transient view of a landscape.
3. Staying for a short time; not regular or permanent; as, a transient guest; transient boarders. [Colloq. U.S.]
Syn.
– Transient, Transitory, Fleeting. Transient represents a thing as brief at the best; transitory, as liable at any moment to pass away. Fleeting goes further, and represents it as in the act of taking its flight. Life is transient; its joys are transitory; its hours are fleeting. What is loose love A transient gust. Pope If [we love] transitory things, which soon decay, Age must be loveliest at the latest day. Donne. O fleeting joys Of Paradise, dear bought with lasting woes. Milton.
– Tran"sient*ly, adv.
– Tran"sient*ness, n.
Tran"sient, n.
Definition: That which remains but for a brief time. Glanvill.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 January 2025
DISPERSION
(noun) the act of dispersing or diffusing something; “the dispersion of the troops”; “the diffusion of knowledge”
Coffee Trivia
