English base transgender & transgendered

[Tegs]

These are defined as:

1. a person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser.

This is quite a problematic definition. Compare with this, for example: Definition of TRANSGENDER

 

[DrD]

Hello,

Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, what you are reporting is in our English definition dictionary and not the English base, which is something different. The English base is what you see on the left side in all the English to any other language dictionaries. Our English definition dictionary is the Random House dictionary, which we don't write ourselves. As far as I know there is no way of changing the content, but I will tag in @Lexicografur who will know whether anything can be done.

I'm sorry if you or anyone else is offended by that definition. I think the Random House definitions were written quite some time ago, and in some cases it shows.

 

[Tegs]

Thanks for your reply. It certainly doesn't sound like something you have the authority to change. If another, more up to date, definition could be added to the English base, that might be a possible solution.

 

[DrD]

Hi again,

Well this is the definition as it appears in the English base (this is from the English to Spanish dictionary, but the English side will appear like this in all the English> dictionaries):

Inglés		Español
transgender adj	(with different gender identity)	transgénero adj mf
	Geena Rocero is a transgender model.

It is necessarily short. In the base dictionaries, we only provide something to point our translators in the right direction and help users identify the sense they are looking for. Ideally, we try not to use more than two words, so this one is already long! I think it is at least fairly inoffensive, but please tell me if you disagree or can suggest an improvement (bearing in mind that it must be as short as the current definition or shorter!).

 

[Tegs]

I agree with you that that seems inoffensive and more correct. It is a shame the Random House one can't be at least hidden from view.

 

[DrD]

I am sorry that I can't do anything about that. Hopefully @Lexicografur will get back to you at some stage to say whether there is anything that can be done. She is away at the moment, so I'm afraid it might take a little while, but please rest assured that we do our best to ensure the language we use is as inclusive as possible and we try not to give offence to anyone. We don't always get it right, of course, but we're happy to listen to feedback and take whatever action we can to ensure all our users have a positive experience of using our dictionaries.