- transvestite
- "person with a strong desire to dress in clothing of the opposite sex," 1922, from Ger. Transvestit (1910), coined from L. trans- "across" + vestire "to dress, to clothe" (see wear). Shortened form trannie first recorded 1983 (in 1960s this was used as a slang shortening of transistor radio). Transvestism is first attested 1928.