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From Old French transcender, Latin transcendere (to climb over, step over, surpass, transcend), from trans (over) + scandere (to climb); see scan; compare ascend, descend.



transcend (third-person singular simple present transcends, present participle transcending, simple past and past participle transcended)

  1. (transitive) to pass beyond the limits of something.
    • Francis Bacon
      such popes as shall transcend their limits
  2. (transitive) to surpass, as in intensity or power; to excel.
    • Dryden
      How much her worth transcended all her kind.
  3. (obsolete) To climb; to mount.
    lights in the heavens transcending the region of the clouds
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Howell to this entry?)

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