TRANSIT • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Transit

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/trˈænzɪt/ Listen

noun

Transit n.

1.

The act of passing; passage through or over. "In France you are now... in the transit from one form of government to another."

2.

The act or process of causing to pass; conveyance; as, the transit of goods through a country.

3.

A line or route of passage or conveyance; as, the Nicaragua transit.

4.

(Astron.)

(a)

The passage of a heavenly body over the meridian of a place, or through the field of a telescope.

(b)

The passage of a smaller body across the disk of a larger, as of Venus across the sun's disk, or of a satellite or its shadow across the disk of its primary.

5.

An instrument resembling a theodolite, used by surveyors and engineers; called also transit compass, and surveyor's transit. Note: The surveyor's transit differs from the theodolite in having the horizontal axis attached directly to the telescope which is not mounted in Y's and can be turned completely over about the axis.

Lower transit (Astron.), the passage of a heavenly body across that part of the meridian which is below the polar axis.

Surveyor's transit. See Transit, 5, above.

Transit circle (Astron.), a transit instrument with a graduated circle attached, used for observing the time of transit and the declination at one observation. See Circle, n., 3.

Transit compass. See Transit, 5, above.

Transit duty, a duty paid on goods that pass through a country.

Transit instrument. (Astron.)

(a)

A telescope mounted at right angles to a horizontal axis, on which it revolves with its line of collimation in the plane of the meridian, used in connection with a clock for observing the time of transit of a heavenly body over the meridian of a place.

(b)

(Surv.) A surveyor's transit. See Transit, 5, above.

Transit trade (Com.), the business conected with the passage of goods through a country to their destination.

Upper transit (Astron.), the passage of a heavenly body across that part of the meridian which is above the polar axis.

verb

Transit v. t. (Astron.) To pass over the disk of (a heavenly body).

See images of 'Transit'

Etymology of 'Transit'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Transit" Quotes from Famous Books

... brief visit to Point Venus, whence Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus on November 9th, 1769, and we saw the lighthouse and tamarind tree, which now mark the spot. The latter, from which we brought away some seed, was undoubtedly planted by Captain Cook with his ...

— A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' • Annie Allnut Brassey

... could obtain or force a passage through Paphlagonia; while for a voyage by sea, there was no chance of procuring a sufficient number of vessels except from Sinope, since no news had been received of Cheirisophus. On the other hand, that city had also a strong interest in facilitating their transit homeward, and thus removing formidable neighbors, for whose ulterior purposes there could be no guarantee. After some preliminary conversation with the Sinopian envoys, the generals convoked the army in assembly, and entreated Hekatonymus and his companions ...

— The Two Great Retreats of History • George Grote

... Cathedral, including a Bishop, who will be one of the ship's salaried officers; a Circus, Cricket-ground, Cemetery, Race-course, Gambling-saloon, and a couple of lines of Electric Tram-cars. The total charge for board and transit will be only 10s. 6d. a day, which will bring the fare to New York to something like 16s. As it is calculated that at least 100,000 passengers will cross the Atlantic on each journey, the financial ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 99., August 2, 1890. • Various

... upon "True Heroism," amid the applause of the fair sex, and convulsed the audience with laughter by prancing, in my enthusiastic eloquence, upon the sore toe of one of the reverend trustees on the stage who fairly yelled with pain: "Sic transit gloria mundi." ...

— The Gentleman from Everywhere • James Henry Foss

... opposition, though they ought, perhaps, to have known better than to be surprised at the phenomenon. They were to be made wiser by force, with respect to men's governing prejudices and motives. And from credulity mortified is a short transit to suspicion. So ungracious a manner of having the insight into motives sharpened, does not tend to make its subsequent exercise indulgent, when it comes to inspect the altered appearances assumed by persons and classes who have previously been ...

— An Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance • John Foster

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