90.1 KPFT Radio Interview: History of Transgender Language

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Old German Trans Terms

The more things change, the more they stay the same. From someone being cis to having explicit trans umbrella terms, we’ve been there done that… about 100 years ago. A while back, I had posted a 30-year old article where we were mulling over trans terms. It seems like the tradition for trans wordsmithing goes back some time!
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1898: Transsesso = Transgender/Transsexual, Currently

The term “transsesso” is the modern-day Italian term for transgender and transsexual. Here’s this term being used in a 1898 Latin language book. I’m noting this 1800s usage to make the point that sticking “trans” in front of “sex” and/or “gender” isn’t an improbable feat that can be traced to any one single person. Instead, I think it’s most probable that folks we are said to have invented trans terms instead simply repurposed existing linguistic ideas/term(s) to suit their needs.
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1947: ‘Trans-sexual’ Usage by C. S. Lewis

More evidence to support the idea that it’s rare to be able to trace a trans term to one person who created it wholecloth. It is said that C. O. Caldwell invented the term “transsexual” in 1949. Unfortunately for that assertion, here we find authors as diverse a someone like C. S. Lewis using in a 1947 book. The context seems to be to crossover a sex. (Here’s the word being used in 1907, 1908 and 1915).
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Transsexer: 2000, Transsexor: 1990 and Transsexism: 1977

Some various interesting derivations of the term “transsexual.”
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1999: Transgenderize

A wretchedly clumsy word meaning to make something cross-sexed/gendered.