tran·som (trăn'səm)
n.
1a. A horizontal crosspiece over a door or between a door and a window above it.
b. A small hinged window above a door or another window.
2. A horizontal dividing bar of wood or stone in a window.
3.A lintel.
4. Nautical.
a. Any of several transverse beams affixed to the sternpost of a wooden ship and forming part of the stern.
b. The aftermost transverse structural member in a steel ship, including the floor, frame, and beam assembly at the sternpost.
c. The stern of a square-sterned boat when it is a structural member.
5. The horizontal beam on a cross or gallows.
[Middle English traunsom, probably alteration of Latin trānstrum, cross-beam, from trāns, across. See trans–.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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