Where does “transvestite” come from?

Transvestite derives from Latin trans, combined with vestis (clothing), ultimately tracing through Proto-Indo-European terh₂- meaning to cross or go beyond.

transvestite (English): A person who sometimes wears clothes...

Definitions

  1. A person who sometimes wears clothes...

Ancestry of “transvestite”, step by step

transvestite traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin vestītus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvestītusclothed, clad, dressed, having been clothed
2Latinvestiōto clothe, dress
3Latinvestisgarment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture;...
4LatinlīneaA linen thread
5Latinlīnumflax
6Proto-Italiclīnom—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlīnomflax

via German Transvestitismus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanTransvestitismus—

Words derived from “transvestite”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European līnom →Every word from Proto-Italic līnom →Every word from Latin līnum →