TRANSPIRE

transpire

(verb) give off (water) through the skin

transpire

(verb) come about, happen, or occur; “Several important events transpired last week”

transpire

(verb) come to light; become known; “It transpired that she had worked as spy in East Germany”

transpire

(verb) exude water vapor; “plants transpire”

transpire, transpirate

(verb) pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

transpire (third-person singular simple present transpires, present participle transpiring, simple past and past participle transpired)

(ambitransitive) To give off (vapour, waste matter etc.); to exhale (an odour etc.). [from 16th c.]

(obsolete, intransitive) To perspire. [17th-19th c.]

(botany, intransitive) Of plants, to give off water and waste products through the stomata. [from 17th c.]

(intransitive) To become known; to escape from secrecy. [from 18th c.]

(loosely, intransitive) To happen, take place. [from 18th c.]

Synonyms

• (become known): be revealed, be discovered, come to light

• (happen): come about, come to pass, occur; See also happen

• (perspire): perspire, sweat

Anagrams

• earprints, pretrains, terrapins

Source: Wiktionary

Tran*spire", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Transpired; p. pr. & vb. n. Transpiring.] Etym: [F. transpirer; L. trans across, through + spirare to breathe. See Spirit.]

1. (Physiol.)

Definition: To pass off in the form of vapor or insensible perspiration; to exhale.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: To evaporate from living cells.

3. To escape from secrecy; to become public; as, the proceedings of the council soon transpired. The story of Paulina's and Maximilian's mutual attachment had transpired through many of the travelers. De Quincey.

4. To happen or come to pass; to occur.

Note: This sense of the word, which is of comparatively recent introduction, is common in the United States, especially in the language of conversation and of newspaper writers, and is used to some extent in England. Its use, however, is censured by critics of both countries.

Tran*spire", v. t.

1. (Physiol.)

Definition: To excrete through the skin; to give off in the form of vapor; to exhale; to perspire.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: To evaporate (moisture) from living cells.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition