kathoey means A feminine or effeminate transgender person or person of a third gender assigned male at birth from Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand. It carries an Arena rating of 1298, earned across 38 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, kathoey ranks #982 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #6,051 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #6,052 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #6,164 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
kathoey is pronounced /kæˈtɔɪ/.
Why “kathoey” is a great word
KATHOEY — [Noun] A culturally specific term in Southeast Asia for a person assigned male at birth whose gender expression or identity is feminine, encompassing a range of identities from third gender to transgender women and effeminate gay men. From Thai กะเทย (gà-təəi), from Khmer ខ្ទើយ (khtəəy), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɡɗəəj. Unlike "ladyboy" (a reductive, often sexualized English slang) or "transgender woman" (a precise Western identity category), *kathoey* is an indigenous, lived category that resists easy translation. It is the glint of sequins under a market stall’s fluorescent light, the meticulous choreography of a dancer on a provincial stage, and the quiet dignity of a bowed head receiving a blessing at a temple—a word that holds a complex reality, a local geography of self that predates modern taxonomy.
Etymology
Borrowed from Thai กะเทย (gà-təəi), from Khmer ខ្ទើយ (khtəəy), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɡɗəəj.
noun
- A feminine or effeminate transgender person or person of a third gender assigned male at birth from Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand.
- A effeminate gay man.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- khanith 58% match — A person in Oman who was assigned male at birth and who has a feminine gender identity or gender expression, such as a trans woman or an effeminate gay man. vs kathoey →
- ashtime 54% match — Among the Maale people of Ethiopia, a male transvestite serving in the king's court, regarded as a third gender. vs kathoey →
- transgenderal 53% match — A transgender person. vs kathoey →
- shemale 53% match — A male-to-female transsexual or transgender person; a trans woman. vs kathoey →
- pondan 52% match — Transvestite, ladyboy vs kathoey →
- transgendered 52% match — Transgender; denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. vs kathoey →
- transgal 52% match — A young trans woman. vs kathoey →
- mukhannath 51% match — An effeminate man in the early Arab world; sometimes a performer of music or dance, etc. vs kathoey →