Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of xylophagous coleopterous insects, giving name to a family Cioidæ or Cisidæ.
  • noun An abbreviation (in cis θ) for (cos θ + i sin θ): in function theory: as, x = ξ + i η = ρ (cos θ + i sin θ) = ρ cis θ.
  • noun A prefix of Latin origin, signifying ‘on this side of,’ forming adjectives with names of rivers, mountains, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mathematics The function .
  • adjective biology Having two mutations on two genes on the same chromosome of a homologous pair.
  • adjective cytology Of the side of the Golgi apparatus nearer to the endoplasmic reticulum.
  • adjective chemistry (properly cis-) Describing a double bond in which the greater radical on both ends is on the same side of the bond.
  • adjective LGBT Cisgender or cissexual: not trans (transgender or transsexual).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin cis ("on the same side").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Abbreviation, presumably from either English cosine and sine and the number i or translingual cos, i, and sin.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cis.

Examples

  • I suspect that people who are offended by the term cis-gendered have probably mostly heard it used by people (trans or non-trans) who take the position that the trans in transgender refers to transgressing gender, by people who view being transgender as a radical act in relation to the gender system (with the implication that it is the radical act in relation to the gender system).

    Language around trans, how it works, how it doesn’t… 2007

  • I don’t think that there are any people in these threads who hold those views (trans-ness as inherently radical), but I do know a few people in person who hold those views, and I think it was from one of them (who is himself non-trans) that I learned the term cis-gendered.

    Language around trans, how it works, how it doesn’t… 2007

  • If nothing else, you have definitely made me understand the problem with the term cis-gendered a term I’ve previously liked.

    Responding To The Feminist Anti-Transsexual Arguments 2007

  • I don’t think that there are any people in these threads who hold those views (trans-ness as inherently radical), but I do know a few people in person who hold those views, and I think it was from one of them (who is himself non-trans) that I learned the term cis-gendered.

    Language around trans, how it works, how it doesn’t… 2007

  • What is starting to undermine my faith in cis humanity is the refusal to face the facts and the continuing failure to stand with us against this escalating spiral of transphobic bigotry and violence.

    Two trans women tortured and murdered in the Dominican Republic 2009

  • What is starting to undermine my faith in cis humanity is the refusal to face the facts and the continuing failure to stand with us against this escalating spiral of transphobic bigotry and violence.

    Looking back, pushing forward 2009

  • I did mean “we” as in cis feminists and obviously I should have made that distinction.

    The Transsexual Empire 2009

  • This refocusing on to cis (non-trans) concerns is an all too common reaction when trans people try to discuss trans issues in cis (non-trans) spaces.

    A rose by any other name 2008

  • This refocusing on to cis (non-trans) concerns is an all too common reaction when trans people try to discuss trans issues in cis (non-trans) spaces.

    A rose by any other name 2008

  • (Just don’t even start me on the “justify your entire existence” flavour of transphobia so routinely and uncompromisingly imposed on trans women by certain cis women feminists)

    The Living Library – take out your prejudice? 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.