ENGLISH
REFERENCE

transpire

v.
US //tɹænˈspaɪɝ// UK //tɹænspˈaɪə// tran·spire Archaic Botany
Origin

Borrowed from Middle French transpirer, from Medieval Latin transpirare (“to breathe through”), from Latin trans (“across”) spirare (“to breathe”). The sense “to become known” is also present in French, while the sense “to happen” is not; the latter probably developed in English from the former.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related words

Last updated April 17, 2026