transcend

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to go beyond the ordinary limits, range, or physical constraints of something

   The novel's themes transcend the period in which it was written.

2. 2
   verb

   to surpass something in quality, importance, power, or achievement

   Her generosity transcended everything the committee had expected.

From Middle English transcenden and Old French transcender, from Latin transcendere, "to climb over or surpass," formed from trans- ("across, beyond") + scandere ("to climb"). The physical image of climbing over a boundary developed into the abstract sense of exceeding ordinary limits.

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