transpire

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>transpire</strong> &#149; \tran-SPYRE\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Transpire</em> means "to happen" or "to become known."</p> <p>// The police are still trying to determine what <em>transpired</em> on the night of the accident.</p> <p>// After the business <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magnate">magnate</a> was arrested for financial-related crimes, it <em>transpired</em> that he has been in insurmountable debt for years.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transpire">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Talk of the benefits of a four-day work week have circulated for years. … Now, it <em>transpires</em> that a six-month trial of a four-day working week is going to be launched in the UK." — Olivia Petter, <em>The Independent</em> (United Kingdom), 17 Jan. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Transpire</em> (based on Latin <em>spirare</em>, meaning "to breathe") was originally used technically to describe the passage of vapor through the pores of a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/membrane">membrane</a> (such as the skin). From this use developed the figurative sense: "to escape from secrecy" or "to become known." That sense was used in ambiguous contexts and often meant "to happen" or "to take place."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>