Does 'transpire' make you perspire?
Is it hot? Well, it may be a sultry, or even downright sweltering, afternoon for many of my readers. But even if you're already sweating, there's no good reason to compound this state of affairs by worrying whether you use the verb 'transpire' correctly. So read on, and I will attempt to eliminate any anxiety you might have over the meaning of the word.
'Transpire' first came into English from French in the late sixteenth century with the rather technical meaning 'to pass off in the form of a vapor or liquid' (Chambers Dictionary of Etymology; earliest known occurrence: 1597), and later developed the figurative meaning, 'to come to light, become known,' etc. These two meanings of the word are currently standard, though Dr. Samuel Johnson apparently did not like the second. (After listing the figurative sense in his landmark 1755 dictionary, he added that it was "a sense lately innovated from France, without necessity.")
But in the late eighteenth century, yet another sense developed--'to happen; occur'--this time on shakier ground. Though it is difficult to be sure of the origin of this controversial usage, most critics attribute it to a misinterpretation of such phrases as "He did not know what had transpired while he was away." The use of the verb in this sense has become widespread since: a quick Google search unearthed, among others, the following examples:
It took me a while, in fact, to locate an example of the correct figurative usage, in a British blog post on identity theft: "It transpired that the fraudster had used the birth certificate of a four-year-old child. . .to obtain a national insurance number and driving licence to gain thousands of pounds in loans and credit cards" (from a House of Commons debate). I encourage readers to take this example as a model of the word's proper metaphorical sense.
As you will recall, I mentioned earlier that you shouldn't 'sweat' this word. Yet perhaps a dash of anxiety, if not desirable, would perhaps at least be appropriate. As the late Robert Burchfield points out in The New Fowler's, the modern French verb transpirer has two senses: 'to come to light, leak out,' and, additionally, 'to perspire.' But since this is an English usage column, and not an Académie française blog post, I think we can stay cool on this one.
'Transpire' first came into English from French in the late sixteenth century with the rather technical meaning 'to pass off in the form of a vapor or liquid' (Chambers Dictionary of Etymology; earliest known occurrence: 1597), and later developed the figurative meaning, 'to come to light, become known,' etc. These two meanings of the word are currently standard, though Dr. Samuel Johnson apparently did not like the second. (After listing the figurative sense in his landmark 1755 dictionary, he added that it was "a sense lately innovated from France, without necessity.")
But in the late eighteenth century, yet another sense developed--'to happen; occur'--this time on shakier ground. Though it is difficult to be sure of the origin of this controversial usage, most critics attribute it to a misinterpretation of such phrases as "He did not know what had transpired while he was away." The use of the verb in this sense has become widespread since: a quick Google search unearthed, among others, the following examples:
It took me a while, in fact, to locate an example of the correct figurative usage, in a British blog post on identity theft: "It transpired that the fraudster had used the birth certificate of a four-year-old child. . .to obtain a national insurance number and driving licence to gain thousands of pounds in loans and credit cards" (from a House of Commons debate). I encourage readers to take this example as a model of the word's proper metaphorical sense.
As you will recall, I mentioned earlier that you shouldn't 'sweat' this word. Yet perhaps a dash of anxiety, if not desirable, would perhaps at least be appropriate. As the late Robert Burchfield points out in The New Fowler's, the modern French verb transpirer has two senses: 'to come to light, leak out,' and, additionally, 'to perspire.' But since this is an English usage column, and not an Académie française blog post, I think we can stay cool on this one.
posted by Thomas McAllister at 5:15 PM
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