Why does Java have transient fields?

Question

Why does Java have transient fields?

Answer 1

Serialization systems other than the native java one can also use this modifier. Hibernate, for instance, will not persist fields marked with either @Transient or the transient modifier. Terracotta as well respects this modifier.

I believe the figurative meaning of the modifier is "this field is for in-memory use only. don't persist or move it outside of this particular VM in any way. Its non-portable". i.e. you can't rely on its value in another VM memory space. Much like volatile means you can't rely on certain memory and thread semantics.