Translacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Turning a written work into another language ; carrying the remains of a holy person to a different shrine or resting place
2. The act of converting a text from one tongue into another ; the removal of a saint's bones or relics to a new location
3. Rendering writing in a different language ; the ceremonial transfer of sacred remains from one place to another

Etymology: Middle English "translacioun" (also "translation") meant the carrying of a saint's relics from one resting place to another, a practice that gave the word its first and most specific sense. The term was borrowed from Old French "translation," which came from Latin "translatio," literally "a carrying across," from "transferre," to transfer, with "trans-" meaning across and "ferre" meaning to carry. Medieval churches prized relics, and moving a saint's bones to a grander shrine was a major event, often drawing pilgrims and bringing gifts and status to the church that received them. The word's sense of transporting something across boundaries therefore first applied to holy bones before broadening to cover the carrying of anything from one place to another, and eventually the transfer of a person to another post or the rendering of text into another language.