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Webster 1913 Edition

Transition

Tran-si′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
transitio
: cf. F.
transition
. See
Transient
.]
1.
Passage from one place or state to another; charge;
as, the
transition
of the weather from hot to cold
.
There is no death, what seems so is
transition
.
Longfellow.
2.
(Mus.)
A direct or indirect passing from one key to another; a modulation.
3.
(Rhet.)
A passing from one subject to another.
[He] with
transition
sweet, new speech resumes.
Milton.
4.
(Biol.)
Change from one form to another.
☞ This word is sometimes pronounced
tran-sish′un
; but according to Walker, Smart, and most other authorities, the customary and preferable pronunciation is
tran-sizh′un
, although this latter mode violates analogy. Other authorities say
tran-zish′un
.
Transition rocks
(Geol.)
,
a term formerly applied to the lowest uncrystalline stratified rocks (graywacke) supposed to contain no fossils, and so called because thought to have been formed when the earth was passing from an uninhabitable to a habitable state.

Webster 1828 Edition

Transition

TRANSI'TION

,
Noun.
transizh'on. [L. transitio.] Passage from one place or state to another; change; as the transition of the weather form hot to cold. Sudden transitions are sometimes attended with evil effects.
The spots are of the same color throughout, there being an immediate transition from white to black.
1.
In rhetoric, a passing from one subject to another. This should be done by means of some connection in the parts of the discourse, so as to appear natural and easy.
He with transition sweet new speech resumes.
2.
In music, a change of key from major to minor, or the contrary; or in short, a change from any one genus or key to another; also, the softening of a disjunct interval by the introduction of intermediate sounds.
Transition rocks, in geology, rocks supposed to have been formed when the world was passing from an uninhabitable to a habitable state. These rocks contain few organic remains, and when they occur with others, lie immediately over those which contain none, and which are considered as primitive.

Definition 2024

transition

transition

English

Noun

transition ‎(countable and uncountable, plural transitions)

  1. The process of change from one form, state, style or place to another.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. […] Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.
    • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times:
      So, depending on how he chooses to govern over the next four years, Mr. Obama may yet have a chance to reset the stale debate in Washington, or at least to hasten the transition from one moment to the next. His re-election opens the door further for the post-’60s generation, even if it does not quite clear the room.
  2. A word or phrase connecting one part of a discourse to another.
  3. (music) A brief modulation; a passage connecting two themes.
  4. (genetics) A point mutation in which one base is replaced by another of the same class (purine or pyrimidine); compare transversion.
  5. (some sports) A change from defense to attack, or attack to defense.
  6. (medicine) The onset of the final stage of childbirth.
  7. (education) Professional special education assistance for children or adults in the process of leaving one educational environment or support program for another to relatively more independent living.
  8. (skating) A change between forward and backward motion without stopping.
  9. (LGBT) The process or act of changing from one gender role to another, or of bringing one's outward appearance in line with one's internal gender identity.

Usage notes

In the United Kingdom education system, the noun is used to define any move within or between schools, for example, a move from one year group to the next. Contrast with transfer which is used to define a move from one school to another, for example from primary school to secondary school. In the United States education system the, noun is used to define a move from a one phase of an Independent Educational Program (IEP) to another specifically regarding the child's or adult's progress from more or less special educational support to greater independent living.

Translations

Verb

transition ‎(third-person singular simple present transitions, present participle transitioning, simple past and past participle transitioned)

  1. (intransitive) To make a transition.
  2. (transitive) To bring through a transition; to change.
    The soldier was transitioned from a combat role to a strategic role.
  3. (intransitive, LGBT) To change from one gender role to another, or bring one's outward appearance in line with one's internal gender identity.
    • 2006, Taylor J. Holder, All Points in Between: Shifting on the Scale of Sex and Gender (ISBN 0595399274):
      Eric told me that after he transitioned, he wanted to learn to fish and all the things his father never taught him.
    • 2009, Julia Serano, Whipping Girl (ISBN 0786747919):
      And simply being accepted into one of these programs was not a guarantee that one would be allowed to transition. First, the trans person had to undergo extensive, sometimes indefinite, periods of psychotherapy […]
    • 2009, Mara Drummond, Transitions - A Guide To Transitioning For Transsexuals And Their Families, page 71:
      If the transitioning person leaves the family home, there will be moving costs, and costs associated with the acquisition of another home or the renting of an apartment. If the non-transitioning spouse leaves the family home, […]
    • 2012, Kevin Alderson, Counseling LGBTI Clients (ISBN 1412987180), page 195:
      After he transitioned, he changed jobs so he could go stealth, hoping that no one would discover he was once a woman.

Related terms

French

Noun

transition f ‎(plural transitions)

  1. transition

Etymology

From Middle French transition, from Latin transitio

Pronunciation

  • enPR: trănzĭ'shən, IPA(key): /tɹænˈzɪʃən/
  • Rhymes: -ɪʃən

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