transcend

Where does the word "transcend" come from? It comes from Latin transcendere, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Transcend’s story begins in Latin: transcendere meant “to climb across, to go beyond.” To climb across, to go beyond, from trans- (across) and scandere (to climb). It reached English by 1300s as transcend. Settled as the English word for going beyond the limits of something. Today, transcend means to go beyond the usual limits of something, or to surpass it.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient transcendere "to climb across, to go beyond", to climb across, to go beyond, from trans- (across) and scandere (to climb).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s transcend "to go beyond the limits of something", settled as the English word for going beyond the limits of something.