Transpires

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To take place or come about ; to be disclosed or made public ; to release moisture or vapor through a surface
2. To occur or happen over a period of time ; to become known or known about gradually ; to emit water vapor or gas from pores or surfaces
3. To unfold or ensue in time ; to be revealed or uncovered to others ; to allow moisture or gas to pass out by evaporation or diffusion

Etymology: The verb "transpires" carries a sense that surprises many readers: it is the newer meaning, not the older one. Its physical root is breathing. Medieval Latin "transpirare" meant "to breathe through," built from Latin "trans" ("across") and "spirare" ("to breathe"), and the same root gives us "spirit" and "respiration." French borrowed the word as "transpirer," and in French it kept its earlier sense of something seeping or escaping through a surface, and it came to mean "to become known," as a secret slips out. English took the verb from French, and the sense "to come to pass" or "to happen" seems to have developed within English from the "become known" sense, since French does not use it that way. The idea is that what becomes known has, in a sense, emerged into view, and events that come out into the open are the ones that take place. The word has therefore moved from a physical image of breath passing through a barrier to an abstract idea of events arriving.

Synonyms: occurs, happens, takes place, arises, emerges

Antonyms: ceases, stops, terminates, discontinues, fails