Definition

1. Noun:
   • A horizontal crosspiece or bar: A structural element that divides a window or separates a door from a window above it.
   • A window above a door: A small, often hinged, window positioned directly over a door, typically attached to the horizontal crosspiece (transom) over the door.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The old door had a beautiful stained glass transom.
  • Light entered the hallway through the transom above the front door.
  • The architect specified a wooden transom to separate the upper and lower window panes.

Advanced Usage

• "Transom window": A specific term for the window itself, though "transom" alone commonly implies this meaning.
  • They installed a transom window to improve ventilation.
• Over the transom: An idiomatic expression in publishing, referring to unsolicited manuscripts submitted to a publisher.
  • The novel was an over-the-transom submission that became a bestseller.

Variants and Related Words

• Transom window (n): Synonymous with the window sense of "transom."
• Fanlight (n): A type of transom window, often semicircular and with fan-like glazing bars.
• Lintel (n): A horizontal support across the top of a door or window (a different, load-bearing structural element).

Synonyms

• Crosspiece: A horizontal bar.
• Fanlight: For a semicircular transom window.
• Windowlight: A general term for a small window.

Related Phrases

• Over the transom: As an idiom, meaning submitted unsolicited.
  • The agent receives hundreds of manuscripts over the transom each year.

Noun

1. a horizontal crosspiece across a window or separating a door from a window over it
2. a window above a door that is usually hinged to a horizontal crosspiece over the door