transient

Contents

English

Etymology

From stem of Latin transiens, present participle of transire (“to go over, to pass”)

Pronunciation

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Adjective

transient (comparative more transient, superlative most transient)

1. Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.

   a transient pleasure

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     this transient world

2. Remaining for only a brief time.

   a transient view of a landscape

   a transient disease

3. (physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
4. (mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
5. Occasional; isolated; one-off
6. Passing through; passing from one person to another.
7. (philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.

Synonyms

• (passing): passing, transitory, temporary
• (brief): brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious

Antonyms

• (passing): permanent
• (brief): permanent, inveterate
• (mathematics): recurrent
• (philosophy): immanent

Derived terms

• transience
• transiently
• transientness

Translations

passing or disappearing with time; transitory

• Arabic: مُؤَقَّت‎ (muʾaqqat), سَريع الزوال‎, اِبْنُ ساعَتِهِ‎ (ibnu sāʿatihi), زَمَنِيّ‎ (zamaniyy)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 短暫的 (zh), 短暂的 (zh) (duǎnzàn de)

• Dutch: vergankelijk (nl), eindig (nl)
• Finnish: ohimenevä (fi), katoava (fi), katoavainen (fi), häipyvä
• French: passager (fr), provisoire (fr), transitoire (fr), temporaire (fr)
• Galician: transitorio
• Georgian: წარმავალი (c̣armavali), გადამავალი (gadamavali), დროებითი (droebiti)
• German: vergänglich (de), vorübergehend (de), temporär (de), instationär, Übergangs- (prefix), unbeständig (de), Ausgleichs- (prefix), abklingend
• Greek: παροδικός (el) (parodikós), πρόσκαιρος (el) m (próskairos)
• Irish: díomuan, duthain

• Italian: transitorio (it) m
• Japanese: 儚い (はかない, hakanai)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: transitorisk

  Nynorsk: transitorisk

• Occitan: transitòri
• Portuguese: transitório (pt)
• Romanian: trecător (ro), efemer (ro), tranzient (ro), tranzitoriu (ro), vremelnic (ro)
• Russian: преходя́щий (ru) (prexodjáščij), мимолётный (ru) (mimoljótnyj), недолгове́чный (ru) (nedolgovéčnyj), скороте́чный (ru) (skorotéčnyj), кратковре́менный (ru) (kratkovrémennyj), транзито́рный (ru) (tranzitórnyj)
• Spanish: transitorio (es)
• Swedish: övergående (sv), förgänglig (sv), flyktig (sv)

remaining for only a brief time

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 瞬間 (zh) (shùnjiān)

• Dutch: kortstondig (nl)
• Finnish: lyhytaikainen (fi), hetkellinen
• French: bref (fr), éphémère (fr), fugace (fr)
• Georgian: დროებითი (droebiti), ხანმოკლე (xanmoḳle), დრომოკლე (dromoḳle), წუთიერი (c̣utieri), წამიერი (c̣amieri)
• German: kurzzeitig (de), flüchtig (de), kurzlebig (de), passager (de)

• Greek: παροδικός (el) (parodikós), εφήμερος (el) m (efímeros), φευγαλέος (el) m (fevgaléos)
• Irish: díomuan, duthain
• Japanese: 瞬間的 (shunkanteki), 一時的 (ja) (ichijiteki), 一過性 (ikkasei)
• Maori: rangitahi, tūao
• Occitan: fugidís
• Russian: временный (ru) (vremennyj)
• Swedish: kortvarig (sv), flyktig (sv)

Decaying with time, especially exponentially

• German: kurzlebig (de), flüchtig (de), zerfallend (de)
• Greek: εφήμερος (el) m (efímeros)

• Japanese: 過渡 (ja) (kato)

mathematics: having positive probability of being left

• German: transient (de)

• Hebrew: חולף‎ (choléf)

occasional; isolated; one-off; individual

• German: gelegentlich (de), isoliert (de), einmalig (de), Augenblicks- (prefix)
• Russian: случа́йный (ru) (slučájnyj), отде́льный (ru) (otdélʹnyj)

passing through; passing from one person to another

• German: Durchgangs- (prefix), durchlaufend (de), Ausgleichs- (prefix), mobil (de)
• Japanese: 過渡 (ja) (kato)

operating beyond itself; having an external effect

• Greek: ενυπάρχων m (enypárchon)

• Japanese: 精神の外部

Noun

transient (plural transients)

1. Something which is transient.
2. (physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
3. (acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform which occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
4. A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker
   • 1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, Virago Press, paperback edition, page 3

     Then, within the space of a few months, there were more transients than there were locals, and the imbalance seemed morally wrong.

5. An unhoused person

Synonyms

• (4) traveller: itinerant, migrant, traveller
• (5) homeless: homeless

Translations

something transient

• German: Übergang (de) m
• Japanese: 一時的なもの (ichijitekina mono)

physics

• German: Transiente f
• Japanese: 過渡現象 (kato genshō)

acoustics

• German: Einschwingungsvorgang m

traveller

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 過客 (zh) (guòkè), 流動人口 (zh)

• French: itinérant (fr)
• German: Reisende (de) f, Reisender (de) m, Durchreisende f, Durchreisender m
• Greek: περιοδεύων (el) m (periodévon)

• Hungarian: átutazó (hu)
• Japanese: 渡り労働者 (watari rōdōsha)
• Spanish: trotamundo, transeunte, transeunte

homeless

• French: clochard (fr), clodo (fr), sans-abri (fr), SDF (fr)

• German: Obdachlose (de) f, Obdachloser (de) m
• Japanese: ホームレス (hōmuresu)

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