Terminology
It is a contraction of "transfer conductance". The old unit of conductance, the mho (ohm spelled backwards), was replaced by the SI (International System) unit, the siemens, with the symbol S (1 siemens = 1 ampere per volt).
The origin of the term transistor is a contraction of "transconductance varistor", proposed at Bell Telephone Laboratories, sometimes incorrectly attributed to a contraction of transresistance. See internal BTL opinion poll .
Read more about this topic: Transconductance