The Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage - Noel's ESL ...

trans-
The point at which a word moves from being a tradename to being a generic
word is in one sense a matter of law. Unpleasant law suits have been fought over
what was considered by one party to be a protected tradename, and by the other to
be common lexical property. Dictionaries are sometimes invoked to show whether
or not the word is generic, and can find themselves in the gun for including words
which began life as tradenames. Their defense is to say that such words would not
be in the list if they were not already generic, and to note at the same time that the
word originated as a trademark. A surprising number of household words began
life as trademarks, including:
biro crimplene daks doona fibro kleenex laundromat levis
masonite plasticine polaroid primus technicolor thermos
There are many more.
A listing of current Australian trademarks can be found at
Newspapers and mass-circulating magazines are more often challenged over the
use of a tradename than dictionaries. They are vulnerable because they also contain
advertising, and editorial use of tradenames may be seen as promoting one product
at the expense of others. Most newspapers take no risks therefore, and urge their
journalists to avoid trademarks altogether by means of a paraphrase, e.g. “sticking
plaster” instead of bandaid. Their other strategy when the word cannot be avoided
(as in verbatim quotes) is to capitalise it, which helps to show that it’s a unique,
proper name and not being used carelessly. Yet the effect can be quite unfortunate,
witness: It was just a Bandaid solution to the agricultural problem, according to
the minister. The use of the capital letter invites a literal rather than figurative
interpretation of bandaid. A way out in this case would be to put quote marks
round “bandaid solution”.
traffic For the spelling of this word when it serves as a verb, see -c/-ck-.
tranquilliser, tranquillizer or tranquilizer Either the first or second
spelling may be found in Britain, and the second or third in the US. In Australia
the most common spelling is the first, reflecting the general preference for -ise(r)
over -ize(r), and the tendency to follow British practice in doubling a final l before
adding endings. The use of double ll seems particularly misguided in this case, since
it’s not usually indulged before -ise. (Compare equalise, totalisator, and see further
under -l/-ll-.) The British spelling is probably influenced by tranquillity, where the
difference in stress justifies the double l. The ideal spelling for Australians would
be tranquiliser, though it has yet to be listed in dictionaries.
trans- This Latin prefix meaning “across, through” comes to us in a large number
of loanwords, especially verbs, but also adjectives and related nouns:
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