Etymology Edit

From the Latin preposition cis (“on this side of”). The earliest known gender-related use of the prefix in any language was in a 1914 German-language book on sexology.[1] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest use of the prefix in the context of gender in English dates from 1994.[2]

Pronunciation Edit

Prefix Edit

cis-

( geography ) On this side of. trans- ‎cis- + ‎alpine → ‎cisalpine ( “ on this [the Roman] side of the Alps ” ) ‎cis- + ‎Rhenane → ‎cisrhenane ( “ on this [the speaker's] side of Rhine ” ) ‎cis- + ‎Caucasia → ‎Ciscaucasia ‎cis- + ‎Jordan → ‎Cisjordan ‎cis- + ‎Neptunian → ‎cis-Neptunian ( chemistry ) Forming names of chemical compounds in which two atoms or groups are situated on the same side of some plane of symmetry passing through the compound. ‎cis- + ‎diazene → ‎cis-diazene ( gender ) Cis; cisgender or cissexual. ‎cis- + ‎man → ‎cisman ‎cis- + ‎woman → ‎ciswoman ‎cis- + ‎male → ‎cismale ‎cis- + ‎female → ‎cisfemale ( gender ) Of, related to, or specific to cis persons. ‎cis- + ‎gender → ‎cisgender ‎cis- + ‎sexism → ‎cissexism ‎cis- + ‎normativity → ‎cisnormativity

Usage notes Edit

In the first sense, “on this side of”, this prefix is usually attached directly to the word it modifies, or sometimes separated from it by a hyphen: cisrhenane , cis-Neptunian .

, . In the gender-related senses, this prefix is attached directly to certain words, most notably cisgender and cissexual (which are almost always spelled thus, not as e.g. *cis sexual). In other cases, the related standalone adjective cis is used: hence one speaks of a cis perspective (not *cisperspective), etc. Compare trans- and trans.

Antonyms Edit

Derived terms Edit

( cisgender, cissexual ) : cisman ciswoman cismale cisfemale

Translations Edit

See also Edit

Further reading Edit

References Edit