tran
Pluraltrans
- 1Clipping of transmission.
Customer reports the tran slips when shifting into third gear.
He rebuilt the tran himself over two weekends in the garage.
Note
Only the first syllable of transmission survives in this clipping, which suits quick notes such as a repair order: the tran slips in third gear. Its plural is trans, so a shop that rebuilt two trans this week rebuilt two transmissions; context keeps that apart from the adjective trans and from the word for a trans person.
- 2An informal word for a trans person, sometimes humorous and sometimes offensive.
Note
Two stories explain the form: a shortening of transgender, or a back-formation that treats the adjective trans as a plural noun and pulls a singular out of it, sometimes as a joke. Its tone swings with the speaker and the moment, from playful to insulting, so outside casual talk the neutral phrase trans person is the safer choice.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with tran, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
A shortening of transgender, or else a back-formation from trans (used jokingly or seriously) that treats trans as if it were a plural noun.