This paper analyzes defi nitional issues raised by terms such as 'man' and 'woman' in transgender jurisprudence, focussing on the Court of First Instance decision in W v Registrar of Marriages. Courts frequently seek guidance on ordinary meaning in standard works of lexicography. But this objectifies the trans party by treating so-called “ordinary” meaning and the dictionary defi nition as determinative.published_or_final_versio