Tran"si*to*ry (?), a. [L. transitorius: cf. F. transitoire. See Transient.]
Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting; evanescent.
Comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble.
Bk. of Com. Prayer.
It was not the transitory light of a comet, which shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes into nothing.
South.
Transitory action Law, an action which may be brought in any county, as actions for debt, and the like; -- opposed to local action.
Blackstone. Bouvier.
Syn. -- transient; short-lived; brief. See Transient.
© Webster 1913.