transposition
|trans-po-si-tion|
/ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən/
moving or putting across (change of position)
Etymology
'transposition' originates from Medieval Latin, specifically the word 'transpositio', where 'trans-' meant 'across' and 'ponere' (via its past participle) meant 'to put'.
'transpositio' derived from Latin 'transponere' (trans- 'across' + ponere 'to put'); the term passed into Old French/Medieval Latin and then into Middle English as 'transposition', becoming the modern English word 'transposition'.
Initially it meant 'the act of putting across or moving from one place to another', and over time it came to be used more specifically for acts of interchanging positions, changing musical key, matrix transpose, and genetic movement, though the core idea of 'moving/putting across' remains.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the act of moving or changing something's position or order; an interchange of places.
The transposition of the furniture made the living room feel more spacious.
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Noun 2
in music, the act of changing a piece to a different key.
The transposition up a whole step suited the singer's range.
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Noun 3
in mathematics, the operation of exchanging rows and columns of a matrix (the transpose).
The transposition of the matrix produced a symmetric matrix.
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Noun 4
in genetics, the movement of a DNA sequence (transposon) from one location to another in the genome.
Transposition of the element caused a mutation in the gene.
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Last updated: 2025/08/17 19:35