Etymograph

English

transitory

Transitory comes from Latin trānseō ‘going across’, and goes back to eō ‘go’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō1‘go’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānseō2as transit‘going across’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsitōrius3
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600transitoire3
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1704transitory3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin transeo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin transitorius
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English transitory
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1704, Jonathan Swift, Section I. The Introduction.: “Secondly, That the Materials being very tranſitory, have ſuffered…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin transeo‘go’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānseōWiktionary, Latin transitoriusas transit‘going across’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsitōriusWiktionary, English transitory
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600transitoireWiktionary, English transitory
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1704transitoryWiktionary, English transitory. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1704, Jonathan Swift, Section I. The Introduction.: “Secondly, That the Materials being very tranſitory, have ſuffered…”

Linked words

through Latin eō ‘go’

issue, initial, exit, ambitious, ambition, ambient, eyre, obituary, sedition, ambiance, seditious, ambit, obit, praetor, 27 more

through Latin trānseō ‘going across’

trance, 5 more

Today it means

adj Lasting only a short time; temporary.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “transitory”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin transeo, Latin transitorius. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin eō / transitory

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