Transnational

How to spell transnational

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce transnational

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does transnational mean?

1. adjectiveExtending or operating across the borders of two or more nations.

Transnational in a sentence

• The firm grew into a transnational corporation with offices on four continents.

• Transnational crime networks move money through several jurisdictions to avoid detection.

Where does transnational come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the Latin prefix trans-, meaning 'across' or 'beyond', joined to 'national', which traces back to the Latin natio, literally 'a birth' and by extension 'a people' or 'a tribe' sharing a common descent. That noun grew from nasci, 'to be born', the same root that gives us 'native' and 'nature'. English assembled 'transnational' in the early twentieth century as international trade, migration, and politics increasingly spilled over the borders of single states. The sense is therefore 'reaching across or beyond nations', as opposed to merely 'international', which suggests dealings between nations. The spelling trap lies in the seam where two letters meet: trans- ends in s and nation begins with n, so the word keeps both, giving the double cluster -sn- that writers sometimes mishandle.

How the word is built

• trans- (across, beyond)
• nation (from Latin natio: birth, people)
• -al (adjective suffix)