transient

[tran-shuh nt, -zhuh nt, -zee-uh nt] /ˈtræn ʃənt, -ʒənt, -zi ənt/
adjective
1.
not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
2.
lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary:
transient authority.
3.
staying only a short time:
the transient guests at a hotel.
4.
Philosophy, transeunt.
noun
5.
a person or thing that is transient, especially a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.
6.
Mathematics.
  1. a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
  2. a solution, especially of a differential equation, having this property.
7.
Physics.
  1. a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
  2. a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.
8.
Electricity. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.
Origin
1590-1600; < Latin transi(ēns) (nominative singular), present participle of transīre to pass by, literally, go across + -ent; see transeunt
Related forms
transiently, adverb
transientness, noun
nontransient, adjective
nontransiently, adverb
nontransientness, noun
untransient, adjective
untransiently, adverb
untransientness, noun
Synonyms
2. fleeting, flitting, flying, fugitive, evanescent. See temporary.
Antonyms
2. permanent.
Examples from the web for transient
  • Usually for short term transient benefits at the expense of long term growth.
  • In the vast majority of cases the condition is temporary and mild, causing only transient discomfort.
  • Resident pods tend to prefer fish, while transient pods target marine mammals.
  • Every year a pod of transient orcas visits the area-but they're arriving later, fewer, and sicker each time they return.
  • Extreme conditions may only be transient and local, but that may be enough to eliminate a species forever.
  • Too oft is transient pleasure the source of long woes.
  • The barkeeper permits them to sit about the stove and by shivering invite the sympathy of transient customers.
  • Scientists refer to these phenomena as transient luminous events.
  • First, he describes transient, economically struggling people who travel from place to place in search of lucrative trials.
  • They have reasonable job security, which is to say only that they cannot be fired at whim or for light and transient causes.
British Dictionary definitions for transient

transeunt

/ˈtrænsɪənt/
adjective
1.
(philosophy) (of a mental act) causing effects outside the mind Compare immanent (sense 2)
Word Origin
C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over; see trance

transient

/ˈtrænzɪənt/
adjective
1.
for a short time only; temporary or transitory
2.
(philosophy) a variant of transeunt
noun
3.
a transient person or thing
4.
(physics) a brief change in the state of a system, such as a sudden short-lived oscillation in the current flowing through a circuit
Derived Forms
transiently, adverb
transience, transiency, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin transiēns going over, from transīre to pass over, from trans- + īre to go
Word Origin and History for transient
adj.

c.1600, from Latin transiens (accusative transientem) "passing over or away," present participle of transire "cross over, pass away," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + ire "to go" (see ion). The noun is first attested 1650s; specific sense of "transient guest or boarder" first recorded 1880.

transient in Technology


1. A sudden, brief increase in current or voltage in a circuit that can damage sensitive components and instruments.
(2003-06-12)
2. A software object with a short and limited lifetime which is not saved for later reuse.
(1998-04-19)