trance

Etymology 1

From Middle English traunce, from Anglo-Norman transe (“fear of coming evil; passage from life to death”), from transir (“to be numb with fear; to die, pass on”), from Latin trānseō (“to cross over”).

noun

1. (countable) A dazed or unconscious condition.
2. (countable) A state of awareness, concentration, or focus that filters experience and information (for example, a state of meditation or possession by some being).
3. (countable, psychology) A state of low response to stimulus and diminished, narrow attention; particularly one induced by hypnosis.
4. (uncountable, music) Short for trance music (“genre of electronic dance music”).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) be in a trance; to entrance.
2. (transitive, rare) To create in or via a trance.
   The Horned Toad (kɛŋkak) tranced the rivers into being. A bakɔh bird tranced the mountains. The Scrub Bulbul (ˀɛsˀããs) drilled fire into existence with its beak. And, finally, the Bronzed Black Drongo (tɛrhɛɛh) tranced the year […] 2014, Geoffrey Benjamin, Temiar Religion, 1964-2012, page 64
   What is interesting for us here is that Chingkai and her familiars dreamed and tranced the Temiar world into being. […] 1995, Sue Jennings, Kevin Jennings, Theatre, Ritual, and Transformation: The Senoi Temiars, page 111

Etymology 2

The verb is derived from Middle English traunce, trauncen, trancen (“to move about (?); to prance (?); to trample the ground”) (whence modern English trounce with the same senses, which see for more). The noun is probably derived from the verb.

verb

1. (obsolete outside Britain, dialectal, intransitive) To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
2. (obsolete outside Britain, dialectal, intransitive) To pass across or over; to traverse.
3. (obsolete outside Britain, dialectal, intransitive) To travel quickly over a long distance.

noun

1. (obsolete outside Britain, dialectal) A tedious journey.
   So saying, he led the way out through halls and trances that were weel kend to my gudesire, and into the auld oak parlour; […] 1824, Sir Walter Scott, Redgauntlet