ENGLISH
REFERENCE

transgender

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈtɹænzˈdʒɛndɝ// UK //tɹænsdʒˈɛndɐ// trans·gen·der Archaic Vulgar

adj. describing a person whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

adj. denoting a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Often used to describe individuals who transition socially or medically to live as a different gender.


SIMPLE

She is a transgender woman who advocates for equal rights.

CONTEXTUAL

The company updated its healthcare policy to be more inclusive of transgender employees and their specific medical needs.

COMPLEX

Sociological research often explores how transgender individuals navigate institutional spaces that were historically designed around a binary understanding of biological sex.

Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der. Proto-Italic *trānts Latin trāns Latin trans-bor. English trans- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os Latin genus Old French gendrebor. Middle English gendre English gender English transgender The adjective sense is derived from trans- (“extending across, through, or over”) + gender, modelled after transsexual (adjective) and probably modified from transgenderism which was coined by the American psychiatrist John F. Oliven (1915–1975) in 1965; the terms transgender, transgenderal, transgendered, transgenderist, and similar terms arose in the decades after this. By the 1990s, the word transgender had acquired its current senses, and had also largely displaced the earlier term transsexual: see the usage notes. The noun and verb senses are derived from the adjective. Regarding noun noun sense 2 ("synonym of transgenderism"), compare transsex (noun).

Usage

Typically used as an adjective before a noun or after a linking verb; avoid using it as a noun to refer to people.

Pitfall

he is a transgendered manhe is a transgender manThe word is an adjective, not a verb; adding '-ed' is considered grammatically incorrect and often offensive.

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