TRANSGENDER

transgender, transgendered

(adjective) involving a partial or full reversal of gender

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

transgender (not comparable)

(narrowly) Having a gender (identity) which is different from the sex one was assigned at birth: being assigned male at birth but having a female or non-binary gender or vice versa; or, pertaining to such people. (Compare transsexual, and the following sense.)

(broadly) Not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories of male or female; having changed gender identity from male to female or female to male, or identifying with elements of both, or having some other gender identity; or, pertaining to such people. (Compare genderqueer, transsexual.)

(of a space) Intended primarily for transgender people.

(of a space) Available for use by transgender people (in addition to non-transgender people).

Usage notes

• The term transgender was coined in 1965 and popularized in the late 1970s, and by the 1990s it had largely displaced the older, narrower term transsexual. Transsexual is now often considered outdated although some people still prefer it; see its entry for more. Neither term should be confused with transvestite (which see for more).

• For the usage of this word (and similar adjectives) as a noun, see below.

Hypernyms

• LGBT

• LGBT+

Hyponyms

(not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories):

• agender

• ambigender

• bigender

• genderfluid

• genderqueer

• non-binary

• third gender

• transsexed

• transsexual (TS)

• trigender

Synonyms

• TG (abbreviated form)

• trans (abbreviated form)

• trans* (abbreviated form, broad sense)

• transgendered (uncommon)

Antonyms

• cisgender

Noun

transgender (usually uncountable, plural transgenders)

(countable, now, often, offensive) A transgender person.

(uncountable, rare) Transgenderism; the state of being transgender. (Compare transsex.)

Usage notes

• In Western countries, many transgender people consider the use of transgender (and similar adjectives) as a noun to be offensive, and several guides advise against such usage. "A transgender man" (for a man who was assigned the female sex at birth) or "a transgender woman" (for the reverse) is frequently more appropriate.

Hypernyms

• LGBT

Coordinate terms

• two-spirit, berdache

• hijra

Verb

transgender (third-person singular simple present transgenders, present participle transgendering, simple past and past participle transgendered)

(uncommon) To change the gender of; (used loosely) to change the sex of. (Compare transsex.)

Usage notes

• In Western countries, many transgender people consider the use of transgender (and similar adjectives) as a verb in reference to transgender individuals to be offensive, much the same as its use as a noun. "A transgender man" (for a man who was assigned the female sex at birth) or "a transgender woman" (for the reverse) is frequently more appropriate.

Source: Wiktionary