I. ˈtran(t)-sət, ˈtran-zət noun
Etymology: Middle English transite, from Latin transitus, from transire to go across, pass
Date: 15th century
1.
a. : an act, process, or instance of passing through or over : passage
b. : change , transition
c.
(1) : conveyance of persons or things from one place to another
(2) : usually local transportation especially of people by public conveyance ; also : vehicles or a system engaged in such transportation
2.
a. : passage of a celestial body over the meridian of a place or through the field of a telescope
b. : passage of a smaller body (as Venus) across the disk of a larger (as the sun)
3. : a theodolite with the telescope mounted so that it can be transited
II. verb
Date: 15th century
intransitive verb
: to make a transit
transitive verb
1.
a. : to pass over or through : traverse
b. : to cause to pass over or through
2. : to pass across (a meridian, a celestial body, or the field of view of a telescope)
3. : to turn (a telescope) over about the horizontal transverse axis in surveying