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Webster 1913 Edition


Transitory

Tran′si-to-ry

,
Adj.
[L.
transitorius
: cf. F.
transitoire
. See
Transient
.]
Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting; evanescent.
Comfort and succor all those who, in this
transitory
life, are in trouble.
Bk. of Com. Prayer.
It was not the
transitory
light of a comet, which shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes into nothing.
South.
Transitory action
(Law)
,
an action which may be brought in any county, as actions for debt, and the like; – opposed to local action.
Blackstone. Bouvier.
Syn. – transient; short-lived; brief. See
Transient
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Transitory

TRANS'ITORY

,
Adj.
[L. transitorius.] Passing without continuance; continuing a short time; fleeting; speedily vanishing.
O Lord, comfort and succor all them who, in this transitory life, are in trouble.
1.
In law, a transitory action, is one which may be brought in any county, as actions for debt, detinue, slander and the like. It is opposed to local.

Definition 2024


transitory

transitory

English

Adjective

transitory (comparative more transitory, superlative most transitory)

  1. Lasting only a short time; temporary.
    • 1704, Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub, Section I - The Introduction,
      Secondly, that the materials being very transitory, have suffered much from inclemencies of air, especially in these north-west regions.
    • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, Chapter 38,
      Quite unconscious of the demonstrations of their amorous neighbour, or their effects upon the susceptible bosom of her mama, Kate Nickleby had, by this time, begun to enjoy a settled feeling of tranquillity and happiness, to which, even in occasional and transitory glimpses, she had long been a stranger.
    • 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned, Book Three, Chapter II: A Matter of Aesthetics,
      For a moment she paused by the taxi-stand and watched them--wondering that but a few years before she had been of their number, ever setting out for a radiant Somewhere, always just about to have that ultimate passionate adventure for which the girls' cloaks were delicate and beautifully furred, for which their cheeks were painted and their hearts higher than the transitory dome of pleasure that would engulf them, coiffure, cloak, and all.
  2. (law, of an action) That may be brought in any county; opposed to local.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Blackstone to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Bouvier to this entry?)

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:ephemeral

Related terms

Translations