transpire

UK: /trænˈspaɪə/ | US: /trænˈspaɪər/

Definition
  1. vi. (of a fact or event) to become known or revealed

  2. vi. (biology) to give off water vapor through the stomata of leaves

  3. vi. (archaic) to occur or happen

Structure
trans <across>spire <breathe>
Etymology

Derived from Latin transpirare (trans- "across" + spirare "to breathe"), the word originally described the biological process of plants "breathing out" water vapor. By the 18th century, it metaphorically extended to mean "leak out" (as if facts were vapor escaping), later solidifying as "to become known." The archaic "to happen" sense reflects an earlier confusion with Latin perspirare ("to occur").

Examples
  1. It later transpired that the documents had been forged.

  2. Plants transpire more rapidly in dry, warm conditions.

  3. The meeting’s details never transpired beyond the boardroom.

  4. Historians study how events transpired during the revolution.

  5. (Archaic) "What transpires here shall not leave this room."