transmittal
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Meaning
The act or process of sending or passing something from one person, place, or thing to another.
A formal document or set of documents that is sent to someone.
Structure
Usage
The secure electronic transmittal of the contract was completed within minutes.
Please include a formal transmittal letter with the shipment of samples.
The report's delayed transmittal to the committee caused a postponement of the meeting.
Etymology
The word 'transmittal' is built upon the core Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send, let go, throw." The prefix trans-, meaning "across," was attached to create the verb transmittere, which literally meant "to send across." This verb entered English as "transmit." The noun-forming suffix -al, common in Latin-derived vocabulary, was then appended to the verb stem to create "transmittal," denoting the act or instance of sending something across. Thus, the word's logic moves from the concrete idea of physically dispatching an object across a distance to the more abstract or formal concept of passing information, authority, or documents from one party to another.
Analysis
- trans: A Latin prefix meaning "across," "beyond," or "through." - mitt: From the Latin root mittere, meaning "to send." - al: A suffix of Latin origin used to form nouns of action from verbs.