transpose

[ verb trans-pohz; noun trans-pohz ]

verb (used with object)

, trans·posed, trans·pos·ing.

1. to change the relative position, order, or sequence of; cause to change places; interchange:

   to transpose the third and fourth letters of a word.

   Synonyms: rearrange

2. to transfer or transport.
3. Algebra. to bring (a term) from one side of an equation to the other, with corresponding change of sign.

   Synonyms: invert

4. Mathematics. (of a matrix) to interchange rows and columns.
5. Music. to reproduce in a different key, by raising or lowering in pitch.

   Synonyms: rearrange

6. to transform; transmute.

verb (used without object)

, trans·posed, trans·pos·ing.

1. to perform a piece of music in a key other than the one in which it is written:

   to transpose at sight.

noun

1. Mathematics. a matrix formed from a given matrix by transposing.

transpose

/ trænsˈpəʊz /

verb

1. tr to alter the positions of; interchange, as words in a sentence; put into a different order
2. music
   1. to play (notes, music, etc) in a different key from that originally intended
   2. to move (a note or series of notes) upwards or downwards in pitch
3. tr maths to move (a term) from one side of an equation to the other with a corresponding reversal in sign

noun

1. maths the matrix resulting from interchanging the rows and columns of a given matrix

transpose

/ trăns-pōz′ /

1. To move a term or quantity from one side of an algebraic equation to the other by adding or subtracting that term to or from both sides. By subtracting 2 from both sides of the equation 2 + x = 4, one can transpose the 2 to the other side, yielding x = 4 − 2, and thus determine that x equals 2.

Derived Forms

• transˈposer, noun
• transˈposable, adjective
• transˌposaˈbility, noun
• transˈposal, noun

Other Words From

• trans·posa·ble adjective
• trans·posa·bili·ty noun
• trans·poser noun
• nontrans·posa·ble adjective
• nontrans·posing adjective
• untrans·posed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transpose¹

1350–1400; Middle English transposen to transmute < Middle French transposer. See trans-, pose ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of transpose¹

C14: from Old French transposer , from Latin transpōnere to remove, from trans- + pōnere to place

Example Sentences

It was easy to transpose that resentment from these fictional, historical figures to the bad actors who stole my big brother’s last breath on a cross of labored breath built years before we were born.

From Salon

"The obvious next step is to see how can we compress an image more broadly, beyond pixel reduction, so that the framework can play with multiple visual dimensions at the same time. Another possibility is to transpose this retinal model to outputs from other regions of the brain. It could even potentially be linked to other devices, like auditory or limb prostheses," Ghezzi says.

From Science Daily

Kingsolver explained that it was "challenging and also fun to transpose Victorian characters and situations to my own place and time" for her 10th novel.

From BBC

So conclusions drawn must be done so with caution; caution because of the volume of results still to come, and caution because it can be crude to instantly transpose local election results to imagine a general election picture.

From BBC

Ukraine will have to transpose its national law to extensive EU legal standards from climate to labour to health, among others.

From Reuters