Whether you’re cis or trans is all a matter of perspective

Prefixes in English often come in complementary pairs, such as ante-/post- (antemeridian/postmeridian), in-/out- (inside/outside), et cetera. A less well-known pairing is trans- (‘across’, ‘beyond’) and cis- (‘on this side of’), as in transmontane/cismontane – referring to something situated either beyond or on this side of the mountains. Most of these words refer to geographical locations, both earthly (cis-/transatlantic) and unearthly (cis-/translunar).