The term cis is short for cisgender , which describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, if someone was assigned female at birth and identifies as a woman, they are cisgender

. The prefix cis- comes from Latin, meaning "on this side of," and is the opposite of trans- , which means "across from" or "on the other side of." This linguistic distinction is similar to its use in scientific fields like chemistry and biology, where cis and trans describe relative positions

. Cisgender is used to differentiate people whose gender identity aligns with their birth-assigned sex from those who are transgender, whose gender identity does not correspond to their birth-assigned sex. It is not related to sexual orientation; a person can be cisgender and have any sexual orientation, such as straight, gay, or bisexual

. In summary:

• Cisgender (cis) : Gender identity matches sex assigned at birth.
• Transgender (trans) : Gender identity differs from sex assigned at birth.
• Origin of cis : Latin for "on this side," used as an antonym to trans.
• Cis is a neutral descriptive term, not implying normalcy or superiority

This term helps clarify discussions about gender by providing a label for people who are not transgender, without implying that cisgender is the default or "normal" state.