— transpirable , adj. — transpiratory /tran spuyr"euh tawr'ee, -tohr'ee/ , adj.
/tran spuyeur"/ , v. , transpired, transpiring .
v.i.
1. to occur; happen; take place.
2. to emit or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.
3. to escape, as moisture or odor, through or as if through pores.
4. to be revealed or become known.
v.t.
5. to emit or give off (waste matter, watery vapor, an odor, etc.) through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.
[ 1590-1600; transpirer transpirare, equiv. to L trans- TRANS- + spirare to breathe ]
Usage. 1. From its earlier literal sense "to escape as vapor" TRANSPIRE came to mean "to escape from concealment, become known" in the 18th century. Somewhat later, it developed the meaning "to occur, happen," a sentence such as He was not aware of what had transpired yesterday being taken to mean He was not aware of what had happened yesterday. In spite of two centuries of use in all varieties of speech and writing, this now common meaning is still objected to by some on the grounds that it arose from a misapprehension of the word's true meaning.