Travesty
The English language is a strange thing. This is only really apparent when you compare it to other European languages like Dutch and French. What made me notice it recently was this sign in Lellebelle, the Amsterdam tranny club:
Travestie means transvestite in Dutch, as well as a few other languages. This had always amused me, it sounding so much like the English word travesty, meaning "an exaggerated or grotesque imitation or parody". I'm not sure I like the idea of being a "grotesque imitation"!
The similarity between the words transvestite and travesty doesn't end there, though. The "vest" part is from the Latin vestis, meaning "clothing". We also use it in words like "vestment" and, or course, plain old "vest"!
The "trans" part is also from Latin, meaning "across" or "switched". In the word "travesty" it got shortened further to "tra", but the word literally refers to something pretending to be something else though "switched clothing". Presumably that originally meant someone pretending to be someone else, but now we use it to mean anything that's not what it's pretending to be. A travesty of justice is something that appears to be just, but just isn't! (Two different uses of the word "just", I told you English was strange!)
Travesty got into English via words like travestire, an Italian word which means to disguise by dressing up.
So the words "travesty" and "transvestite" share identical roots. Somewhere in the melting pot of Indo-European languages the word "transvestite" lost most of the negative connotations that "travesty" has; or maybe "travesty" gained them.
Either way, I'm glad I'm a transvestite and not a travesty, however you spell it!
Travestie means transvestite in Dutch, as well as a few other languages. This had always amused me, it sounding so much like the English word travesty, meaning "an exaggerated or grotesque imitation or parody". I'm not sure I like the idea of being a "grotesque imitation"!
The similarity between the words transvestite and travesty doesn't end there, though. The "vest" part is from the Latin vestis, meaning "clothing". We also use it in words like "vestment" and, or course, plain old "vest"!
The "trans" part is also from Latin, meaning "across" or "switched". In the word "travesty" it got shortened further to "tra", but the word literally refers to something pretending to be something else though "switched clothing". Presumably that originally meant someone pretending to be someone else, but now we use it to mean anything that's not what it's pretending to be. A travesty of justice is something that appears to be just, but just isn't! (Two different uses of the word "just", I told you English was strange!)
Travesty got into English via words like travestire, an Italian word which means to disguise by dressing up.
So the words "travesty" and "transvestite" share identical roots. Somewhere in the melting pot of Indo-European languages the word "transvestite" lost most of the negative connotations that "travesty" has; or maybe "travesty" gained them.
Either way, I'm glad I'm a transvestite and not a travesty, however you spell it!
Labels: transvestism
travesty /"travIsti/
· n. (pl. travesties) an absurd or grotesque misrepresentation.
· v. (travesties, travestied) represent in such a way.
– ORIGIN C17 (as an adj. in the sense ‘dressed to appear ridiculous’): from Fr. travesti, travestir ‘disguise’.
So maybe being being a 'travestie' is not so bad after all as 'dressing ridiculously' is half the fun ;-)
maybe i mis understand this lines but do you say travesty has negative conntations and transvestite not?
In my opinion, (maybe in germany) it's others. The Word Transvestite has more negative conntations and tavesty less.
Anyone knows what travesty is. A man in the role of a women. A showgirl for the time of the show. (Maybe there's a different view, cause the famous Mary (Georg Preuße, since many many years the biggest Travesty-Star in germany http://www.mary-preusse.ch/index-n.htm ) comes at the end of every show back as man) So he shows, it's only the role of "Mary"
But "Transvestite" is a hard word, where noone knows, what behind it. Transvesite could be a hairy man with beard in a skirt or a great tranny. Is it sexuality or show, or pervert? Noone knows, but it's not only a role for a time.
I prefer the Term "tranny"
That's the interesting thing, Zoe, I think it's only in English where travesty has a negative connotations. We don't use it in the sense of a female impersonator at all, only to describe things that are "an absurd or grotesque misrepresentation".
You mean like Ole in Spanish means wonderful but in English it means there is nothing where there used to be something ?
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