- transfigure
- c.1300, from O.Fr. transfigurer (12c.), from L. transfigurare "change the shape of," from trans- "across" + figurare "to form, fashion," from figura "form, shape" (see figure). Transfiguration (late 14c.) originally was "the change in appearance of Christ before his disciples" (Matt. xvii:2; Mark ix:2,3). The non-Christian sense is first recorded 1540s.