transit

Where does the word "transit" come from? It comes from Latin transire, passing through Latin before entering English (1400s).

Transit’s story begins in Latin: transire meant “to go across.” To go across, from trans- (across) and ire (to go). Within Latin, it grew into transitus by ancient. A going across, a passage, from transire. It reached English by 1400s as transit. Settled as the English word for the act of passing through or across a place. Today, transit means the act of traveling across a place, or a public transportation system.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient transire "to go across", to go across, from trans- (across) and ire (to go).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient transitus "a going across, a passage", a going across, a passage, from transire.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1400s transit "the act of passing through or across a place", settled as the English word for the act of passing through or across a place.