transgender
The prefix "trans" is Latin for " from the other " usually indicating a change of state. Transgender is an umbrella term used for people whose gender identity (identification as male, female, intersex, nonbinary, etc.) is different from what they were assigned at birth. As explained by the National Center for Transgender Equality , a transgender girl or woman is a girl or woman whose sex assigned at birth was male, but who understands herself as female. A transgender boy or man is a boy or man whose sex assigned at birth was female, but who understands himself to be male. Some transgender people identify as neither male nor female, or as a combination of/among a spectrum of male and female. There are many terms that people who do not identify as male or female use to describe their gender identity, like androgynous, non-binary or genderqueer.
The opposite of “transgender” is “cisgender,” which describes people whose gender identity matches their assigned sex at birth. The prefix "cis" is Latin for "s ame side as. "
[Last reviewed in April of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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