Forms: 5 traunsum, -som, -sone, trampsoun, -sown, tramson, 6 trawnsom, (transumpt), transume, -same, 6–7 -sam, 6–9 -sum, -some, 7 -summe, 6– transom. [Late ME. traunsum, -som, of obscure history; but app. (as held by Prof. Skeat), a corruption of L. transtrum, of which it is the exact equivalent in sense. L. transtrum was a derivative of trans, or the root tra- across, with the instrumental -trum = Gr. -τρον, Indo-Eur. -trom.
No connecting forms between transtrum and transum have been found; but perh. the latter was a workmen’s corruption, which had assumed this form before it came to be written down: cf. PEDIMENT. (Florio’s spelling transtroms in 1598 and 1611 can only be taken as his own emendation of the Eng. word after It. transtri; he knew also the form transoms.)
The obscurity of the history is increased by the fact that senses 5 and 6 and the combination transom-nail are known of earlier date than the architectural and naval senses, which being those of L. transtrum would etymologically be earlier.]
1. In building, etc.: A cross-beam or cross-piece, esp. one spanning an opening to carry a superstructure; a lintel.
1487–8. Rec. St. Mary at Hill, 137. Item, for v quarteres for traunsones, x d.
1519. Horman, Vulg., 138. I hytte my heed ageynst the soyle or transumpt.
1538. Elyot, Transtra, transoms which do go ouerwhart a house, also the seates etc.].
1577. Harrison, England, II. x. They are inforced for want of stuffe to vse no studdes at all, but only raysines, groundselles, transomes, and vpright principalles.
1598. Florio, Transtri, crosse or ouerthwart beames, transtroms [1611 Transtroms or crosse-beames]. Ibid., Trasti.… Also a transome or beame going crosse a house [1611 transoms or crosse beames].
1667. Primatt, City & C. Build., 63. Suppose a Shop-window to be twenty foot front,… the Brest-summer will take up twenty six foot of Timber,… the two Transums for the Stalls eight foot.
1682. Wheler, Journ. Greece, I. 18. [An arch] whose two Lintel-Posts, and Transome, are of three whole Stones.
1879. Farrar, St. Paul, II. 12. [The Temple of Diana at Ephesus] Its doors … surmounted by transoms so vast and solid that the aid of miracles was invoked to account for their elevation.
b. The transverse top-beam of a gallows, a swing, or the like; the lintel stone of a trilith.
1615. G. Sandys, Trav., 56. Swinging vp and downe, as boyes do in bell-ropes: for which there be gallowses … of an exceeding height … by two ioyning ropes that are fastned aboue, they will swing themselues as high as the transome.
1796. Morse, Amer. Geog., II. 112 (Stonehenge). The transomes, or over-thwart stones, are quite plain.
1865. Lubbock, Preh. Times, v. (1878), 116. Circles of uprights and transoms at Stonehenge.
c. A beam resting across a saw-pit to support the log.
1885. Cheshire Gloss., Transom, the cross piece of wood that holds up the log on a saw-pit. A back-transom is a spare one always kept under the log for safety.
1888. Elworthy, W. Somerset Gloss., Transum, a cross bearer used by sawyers to support the end of the piece. A spare support thrown across the pit would be also called a transum.
2. A horizontal bar of wood or stone across a mullioned window, dividing it in height; also, a cross-bar separating a door from the fan-light above it (Ogilvie, 1882).
1502. Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830), 25. To John Conewey smyth for foure transoms and xij standardes [of iron for a window].
1575. Laneham, Lett. (1871), 50. Foour great wyndoz a froont,… euery one a fyue foot wide, az many mo eeuen abooue them, diuided on all parts by a transum and Architraue.
1611. Cotgr., Meneau de fenestre, the transome, or cross-barre of a window.
1663. Gerbier, Counsel, 19. The middle Transoms of them [windows] above six foot … since otherwise the middle Transome would be opposite to a mans eye.
1805. T. West’s Antiq. Furness, 365. The wooden mullions and transoms contained in the great [window] were placed there in 1796.
1871. Athenæum, 29 July, 151. The lancet windows of the principal story are long triplets, of ample width, and divided horizontally by broad transoms of sculptured work.
b. Short for transom window: A window divided by a transom; also a small window above the lintel of a door. U.S. colloq.
1844. Kinglake, Eöthen, v. 61. The transom that looks longwise through the street.
1882. Harper’s Mag., Nov., 893. In trying to climb through the transom into the car he took hold of the guide rope.
1883. Century Mag., XXV. 588/2. The dim light that streamed into the room from the transom.
1908. W. Churchill, Mr. Crewe’s Career, x. The buzz of talk which he had heard through the closed transom.
3. In technical applications. † a. The vane of a cross-staff (CROSS-STAFF 2): see quot. 1696. Obs.
1594. Blundevil, Exerc., VII. xii. (1597), 322 b. A new kind of crosse staffe, hauing 3 transames or crosses.
1696. Phillips (ed. 5), Transome,… the Vane of a Cross Staff, or Wooden Member, to be set a-cross the cross Staff, having a Socket in it, upon which it slides stiff upon the Square of the Cross Staff, and may be set to any of the Graduations of it.
† b. The transverse member in a cross. Obs.
1615. G. Sandys, Trav., 184. For it [the Cross of Christ] was framed … of foure seuerall woods; the foot of Cedar, the bole of Cypresse, the transome of Palme, and the title of Oliue.
1658. Sir T. Browne, Gard. Cyrus, i. 96. Some [crosses] being right, and of one single peece without traversion or transome.
1864. R. S. Hawker, Quest Sangraal, 33. [The Southern Cross] a Pentacle of stars, whereof two shone for the Transome and three for the Stock.
c. A cross-piece connecting the cheeks of a gun-carriage.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. xviii. (Roxb.), 138/2. The transomes, are the peeces of wood which hold the cheekes or Limbres togather.
1828. J. M. Spearman, Brit. Gunner (ed. 2), 114. The 68-pounder carriage has, in addition to the breast transom…, a centre and horizontal one.
1853. Stocqueler, Milit. Encycl., Transoms, in artillery, pieces of wood which join the cheeks of gun-carriages. There is but one in a truck carriage, placed under the trunnion-holes; and four in a wheel-carriage—the trail, the centre, the bed, and the breast-transoms.
d. Carriage-building. In a perch-carriage, Each of two cross-timbers (fore and hind transom) framed across the perch, and upon which the springs are fixed.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), I. iii. 46. The fore transom, or fore spring-bar, is the most essential part of the cross framings. It is a strong timber fixed to the perch by means of a hooping-piece.
1877. G. G. Thrupp, Hist. Coaches, ii. 32. The carriage is composed of a transom in front with a perch … fastened to it.
e. Each of the transverse timbers joining the sides in the frame of a railway carriage bogie-truck.
1891. in Cent. Dict.
f. pl. On a railway: Cross-timbers laid between (or, formerly, beneath) longitudinal sleepers.
1838. Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl., I. 341/1. On the Great Western Railway … the longitudinal sleepers have been laid on transoms and piles.
1872. Daily News, 15 July. For nearly a mile the transoms have been torn up and smashed, the ballast ploughed up, and the line otherwise injured.
1892. Pall Mall G., 23 May, 1/3. The ‘transoms’ are the cross-timbers which hold the longitudinal sleepers at their proper distance apart.
g. The seat of a throne; also, a couch or seat built at the side of a cabin or state-room on board ship.
1883. F. M. Crawford, Dr. Claudius, vii. The Duke was extended on a transom. Ibid., ix. He sat down on the transom.
1896. Daily News, 19 May, 5/2. Each throne has also been furnished with new transomes covered with crimson velvet.
4. Shipbuilding. † A cross-beam in the frame of a ship (obs.); spec. each of several transverse beams bolted to the stern-post, which support the ends of the decks and determine the breadth of the stern at the buttocks.
1545. Elyot, Canonia, the transomes in a shyppe, whereon the hatches are made.
1584. B. R., trans. Herodotus, II. xcvi. 94. They vnite and ioyne the plancks together … binding the same to many transomes that goe both crosse and longe wayes for the strength of the vessell.
1624. Sir W. Monson, Tracts (Navy Rec. Soc.), IV. 47. The transom is a timber that lies athwart the stern, and lays out the breadth of the ship at the buttock, which is her breadth from her tuck upwards.
1748. Anson’s Voy., III. ii. 219. The long boat, which was at this time moored a-stern, was on a sudden canted so high, that it broke the transom of the Commodore’s gallery.
1770. Cook, Voy. round World, II. vi. (1773), 398. The 27th and 28th were spent in refitting the ship…, fixing a transom for the tiller, getting stones on board.
1871. Blackmore, Maid of Sker, 65. Part of the taffrail was carried away, but the transom and transom-knees stood firm.
b. Short for transom-frame (see in 7); hence in Boat-building, a board similar in shape and position to a transom-frame: see quot.
1857. P. Colquhoun, Comp. to Oarsman’s Guide, 28. The stern-post is scarfed on, and upon it comes the transom, that heart-shaped piece of board, found in all cutter-built boats, and secured to the sax-board by transom grips or horizontal knees.
† 5. Short for transom-nail. Obs. rare.
1423. in Rogers, Agric. & Prices, III. 448/4. Hornchurch. Transom, 1 m. @ /10.
1427. Rec. St. Mary at Hill, 65. Also payd for ijml traunsum, þe ml x d … xx d. Also pay for iij ml sprigge, þe ml ix d … xxvij d.
† 6. ? A bolster; or part of a bedstead answering the same purpose. Obs.
The editor of the Bury Wills remarks ‘the transome is usually considered to be that part of the bedstead which is between the two head-posts … but the general association of the word with feather beds would lead us to think the bolster was meant.’
[1459: ? implied in TRANSOMER.[
1463. Bury Wills (Camden) 23. ij peyre of good shetes, the trampsoun, the costerys of that chambyr. Ibid. (1479), 53. A traunson.
1482. Marg. Paston, in P. Lett., III. 288. To John Heyth a materas with a traunsom, a peire shetes, a peire blankettes, and a coverlight.
1522. Bury Wills (Camden), 115. A ffetherbed, ij trawnsoms, a matras, ij pelowes, iiij payer of schetes.
[1570. Levins, Manip., 161/44 Ye Transome of a bed, trabula.]
7. attrib. and Comb., as transom-shaft, -stone; transom-shaped adj. (2 b); transom-bar, the cross-bar over a door having a fan-light above it (U.S.); † transom-eyed a., having a transom or beam (BEAM sb.1 3 c) in the eye; transom-frame (Shipbuilding), the aftermost ‘square-frame’ of a ship, giving shape to and supporting the stern, and bolted to the stern-post; transom-grip (Boat-building), an angular fastening analogous to a transom-knee; transom-knee (Shipbuilding), each of the curved timbers or angle-irons by which the transoms are fastened to the stern-timbers; transom-lattice, a transverse lattice; transom-lifter, an apparatus for controlling and fastening the fan-light over a door (U.S.); † transom-nail, a small size of nail, formerly in use; ? a lath nail; transom-rib, a transverse rib; transom road (U.S.), a railway track on longitudinal sleepers with transoms between them; transom-stern (Shipbuilding), a vessel’s stern formed by or taking its shape from a transom; transom-window = 2 b: see quot. 1688.
1909. Cent. Dict. Supp., *Transom-bar.
1601. Bp. W. Barlow, Defence, 67. Thus these *transam-eyed hypocrites can spie small motes in Vs.
1874. Thearle, Naval Archit., 85. A deep transverse frame, termed a *‘transom frame,’ situated at the fore ends of the rudder-post, and connected thereto.
1857. *Transom-grip [see 4 b].
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1789), Courbes d’arcasse, the transom-knees, or sleepers.
c. 1850. Rudim. Navig. (Weale), 156. Transom-knees, knees bolted to the transoms and the side of the ship.
1689. E. Howard, Caroloiades, 273. A *transom Lattise did divide that Room.
1359. Letter-bk. G. London, lf. 83. Item in D. de lathes ij s. iij d. & ob. Item in Ml. & D. de *trasonna(i)l, xviij d. Item in Ml. & D. de Sprig’ xv d.
1424. Hornchurch Account, 2 & 3 Hen. VI. (New Coll. Oxf.). In .MI. de traunsumnayl emptis pro domo capellani … x .d.
1835. R. Willis, Archit. Mid. Ages, vii. 85. The principal distinction between these [kinds of vaulting] and our own fan vaulting, is the substitution of lozenge-headed compartments in the fans for the English horizontal *transom rib.
1813. Scott, Rokeby, V. iv. The moon through *transom-shafts of stone, Which crossed the latticed oriels, shone.
1844. Kinglake, Eöthen, v. 60. The *transom-shaped windows suspended over your head.
1770. Pennant, Zool., IV. 53. In the interstices between the upright and *transome stones of Stone-henge.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 473/2. A *Transome window, hath Cross barrs in it, at the third part of its height.
1837. Mary Howitt, Rur. Life, III. v. (1862), 264. The state apartments are lofty and spacious, with numerous transom windows.
Hence Transomed a., divided by or having a transom or transoms; † Transomer, (?) a case or slip for a bolster: cf. sense 6.
1848. B. Webb, Sk. Cont. Ecclesiol., 276. The window is *transomed midway.
1876. T. Hardy, Ethelberta (1890), 3. Lifting his eyes to the mullioned and transomed windows and moulded parapet above him.
1881. Athenæum, 13 Aug., 216/1. The hall … is lighted by three transomed windows.
1459. Paston Lett., I. 480. Canvas in the Warderop and fyne Lynen Clothe of dyvers sortes … ix. berys for fetherbeddys. Item, iiij. *transomers.
