Word Confusion: Transgress versus Transpire

Revised as of
7 Jan 2023

It was a comment that someone made about informing tech support about what had transgressed so far. Now, I consider any computer glitches a transgression against my sanity. Only what this person meant was what had happened so far, i.e., what had transpired.

Sure, there’s a lot that transpires in my life that can be interpreted as a transgress against me. But what this means is stuff that happens in my life is offensive to me.

Essentially, transgress is negative, an offense that violates a moral code.

So, that whine over *grin*, transpire does have its issues in the world of linguists. In particular, some object to transpire meaning to happen or occur — they claim it’s “pretentious and unconnected to the word’s original meaning, to give off as vapor. Mm-hmmm, because English never evolves . . . Okay, okay, to be fair, it does make one sound more educated?, intelligent? A good use for developing a snooty character, lol.

Transpire can also mean to become publicly known, as in “it transpired that they were indeed embezzling”.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Transgress	Transpire
Donald Trump Supporters Attack Capitol Hill by Ted Eytan is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via OCPS TeacherPress. — Deluded crowd transgresses against America.	Sweat by Shaylor is under the CC BY-ND 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — Even people transpire.
Part of Grammar:
Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: transgresses Past tense or past participle: transgressed Present participle: transgressing	Verb 2, intransitive 1 & transitive Third person present verb: transpires Past tense or past participle: transpired Present participle: transpiring
Verb, intransitive: Infringe, violate, pass over, or go beyond the bounds of a moral principle or other established standard of behavior To violate a law, command, moral code, etc. Offend Sin Verb, transitive: Infringe or go beyond the bounds of a moral principle or other established standard of behavior [Geology; of the sea] Spread over (an area of land)	Verb, intransitive: Occur 1 Happen Take place Prove to be the case [With clause; usually it transpires; of a secret or something unknown] Come to be known Be revealed [Botany; of a plant or leaf] Give off water vapor through the stomata 2 To emit or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves To escape, as moisture or odor, through or as if through pores Verb, transitive: To emit, excrete, or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves 2 [Physiology] To exhale To perspire
Examples:
Verb, intransitive: They must control the impulses that lead them to transgress. And if any of us transgress, we will deal with him amongst ourselves. On January 6, President Trump transgressed against our country. Those are the rules, and anyone who transgresses will be severely punished. Verb, transitive: She had transgressed an unwritten social law. They have transgressed the bounds of prudence. They will transgress the will of God. Each continent has been transgressed by continental seas.	Verb, intransitive: I’m going to find out exactly what transpired. As it transpired, he was right. It transpired that millions of dollars of debt had been hidden in a complex web of transactions. Yaddo, it transpired, had been under FBI surveillance for some time. A cactus does not transpire as freely as most plants. Verb, transitive: It transpired that Kareem had left his driver’s license at home. Evapotranspiration occurs when plants secrete or transpire water through pores in their leaves.
Derivatives:
Adjective: nontransgressive, transgressive Adverb: transgressively Noun: transgressing, transgression, transgressor	Adjective: transpirable, transpirational, transpiratory, untranspired, untranspiring Noun: transpiring, transpiration, transpiry
History of the Word:
Late 15th century, late Middle English as transgression, from the Old French transgresser or the Latin transgress- meaning stepped across, from the verb transgredi, which is from trans- (across) + gradi (go).	Mid-18th century is a figurative use comparable with leak out. Late Middle English, in the sense emit as vapor through the surface, is from the French transpirer or the medieval Latin transpirare, from the Latin trans- (through) + spirare (breathe).

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Transgress versus Transpire

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: transgress, transpire

Lexico.com: transgress, transpire

Wordnik: transpire

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Boston Massacre designed by Henry Pelham and engraved, printed, and sold by Paul Revere, Boston. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

It was originally published under the title The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre, of which only two impressions could be located by Brigham. The bottom of the image was cropped out in Photoshop.