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The term transom has a few different meanings.

In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward (known as retroussé), or raked aft.^[1][2] The bottom tip of the transom can be approximately on the waterline, in which case the stern of the vessel is referred to as a "transom stern", or the hull can continue so that the centreline is well above the waterline before terminating in a transom, in which case it is referred to as a "counter stern".^[3]

On smaller vessels where an outboard motor is the source of propulsion, the motor is usually mounted on the transom, and held in place either by clamps or metal bolts that go through the transom. In this arrangement, all the power of the motor is transmitted via the transom to the rest of the vessel's structure, making it a very important part of the vessel's construction.^[4]

The term is probably a corruption of Latin transtrum, a thwart, in a boat; equivalents are French traverse, croisillon, German Heckspiegel.^[5]

In architecture, a transom is the term given to the horizontal lintel or beam which is framed across a window, dividing it into stages or heights.^[5][6] In England, the transom above a door is usually referred to as a fanlight, and occasionally as an "overlight", or by the French word "vasistas."^[7] The word "fanlight" derives from the fan-like shape of early transoms, which became a traditional part of the Georgian style.^[8] The French term is phonetically similar to German phrase "was ist das?" ("what is that?"). Hence folk etymology ascribes its origin to a visiting German's reaction to seeing a transom during a trip to France.^[9]

In early Gothic ecclesiastical work, transoms are only found in belfry unglazed windows or spire lights, where they were deemed necessary to strengthen the mullions in the absence of the iron stay bars, which in glazed windows served a similar purpose. In the later Gothic, and more especially the Perpendicular Period, the introduction of transoms became common in windows of all kinds.^[10]

The phrase "over the transom" refers to works submitted for publication without being solicited. The image evoked is of a writer tossing a manuscript through the open window over the door of the publisher's office.^[11]