Transmute

By Deane Barker tags: definition
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Definition: to change something into something else

From “trans” which means “on the other side of” and the Latin verb “mutare” which means “to change.” Thus, “transmute” means “to complete or effect a change” – get “on the other side of” a change.

Why I Looked It Up

In The Sea We Swim In:

…[the Civil War] was transmuted after the surrender at Appomattox into the “Lost Cause,” a doomed yet noble campaign to preserve a way of life marked by chivalry and crinolines.

(Note: this particular situation is known as the The Lost Cause Argument.)

I had also seen the word from various fantasy books – wizards are known to “transmute” people into frogs, for example. And metallurgists have, for years, attempted to transmute other metals into goal.

Update

Added on

I found a similar word: “transmogrify.” The definition is remarkably similar to transmute. It shares a prefix, but there’s no clear definition of what “mogrify” means or where it came from, nor is it a word by itself.

Here’s the usage I found:

“Social Darwinism” isn’t simple a cliche. It’s magic, an alchemist’s trick that transmogrifies the gold of freedom into the the lead of Hitlerism.

I don’t have the name of the book in my notes.

Links from this – The Sea We Swim In: How Stories Work in a Data-Driven World March 13, 2022
A lovely analysis of why stories matter so much to us. the book dissects the concept of “story” into these areas: Author Audience Journey Character World Detail Voice Platform Immersion The author provides lots of examples of each, from both the creative arts and the business world. I’m having...
Links from this – The Lost Cause Argument May 6, 2023
This is a view of history that attempts to paint the Confederacy and its role in the American Civil War in the best possible light. It emerged sometime after the war, when southerners were trying to recover from the damage of the war and rationalize why it was fought. The “lost cause” means that...