transverse

[trans-vurs, tranz-; trans-vurs, tranz-] /trænsˈvɜrs, trænz-; ˈtræns vɜrs, ˈtrænz-/
adjective
1.
lying or extending across or in a cross direction; cross.
2.
(of a flute) having a mouth hole in the side of the tube, near its end, across which the player's breath is directed.
Compare end-blown.
3.
(of an automotive engine) mounted with the crankshaft oriented sideways.
noun
4.
something that is transverse.
5.
Nautical, web frame.
6.
Geometry, transverse axis.
7.
a city road that cuts through a park or other area of light traffic; shortcut.
Origin
1610-20; < Latin trānsversus going or lying across, athwart. See traverse
Related forms
transversely, adverb
subtransverse, adjective
subtransversely, adverb
Examples from the web for transverse
  • The second section, the transverse colon, crosses the upper abdomen to the left side.
  • Thus the trajectory of the photon, or the transverse component of its momentum is meaningless.
  • He suffered fractured transverse processes in three vertebrae in his lower back.
  • Collins suffered chipped transverse processes in a vertebrae.
  • Under the plan, the crosstown transverse roads would remain open to traffic.
  • In the high tower, when the night is quiet, blows the transverse bamboo.
  • The open release procedure involves simply cutting the transverse carpal ligament.
  • The diagnosis was transverse myelitis, an inflammation across the spinal cord, and the prognosis was grim: complete paralysis.
  • Sticking out at an angle from the circular body of the vertebra, there is a wing of bone called the transverse process.
  • The polyps were removed from the ascending and transverse colon.
British Dictionary definitions for transverse

transverse

/trænzˈvɜːs/
adjective
1.
crossing from side to side; athwart; crossways
2.
(geometry) denoting the axis that passes through the foci of a hyperbola
3.
(of a flute, etc) held almost at right angles to the player's mouth, so that the breath passes over a hole in the side to create a vibrating air column within the tube of the instrument
4.
(astronomy) another word for tangential (sense 2)
noun
5.
a transverse piece or object
Derived Forms
transversely, adverb
transverseness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin transversus, from transvertere to turn across, from trans- + vertere to turn
Word Origin and History for transverse
adj.

"lying across," early 15c. (earlier transversary, c.1400), from Latin transversus "turned or directed across," past participle of transvertere "turn across," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). The verb transvert is recorded from late 14c.

transverse in Medicine

transverse trans·verse (trāns-vûrs', trānz-, trāns'vûrs', trānz'-)
adj.
Lying across the long axis of the body or of a part.