epicene








adjective

  1. belonging to, or partaking of the characteristics of, both sexes: Fashions in clothing are becoming increasingly epicene.
  2. flaccid; feeble; weak: an epicene style of writing.
  3. effeminate; unmasculine.
  4. (of Greek and Latin nouns) of the same gender class regardless of the sex of the being referred to, as Latin vulpēs “fox or vixen” is always grammatically feminine.
  5. Grammar. (of a noun or pronoun) capable of referring to either sex, as attendant, chairperson, Kim, one, or they; having common gender.

noun

  1. a person or thing that is epicene.

adjective

  1. having the characteristics of both sexes; hermaphroditic
  2. of neither sex; sexless
  3. effeminate
  4. grammar
    1. denoting a noun that may refer to a male or a female, such as teacher as opposed to businessman or shepherd
    2. (in Latin, Greek, etc) denoting a noun that retains the same grammatical gender regardless of the sex of the referent

noun

  1. an epicene person or creature
  2. an epicene noun
adj.

mid-15c., epycen, originally a grammatical term for nouns that may denote either gender, from Latin epicoenus “common,” from Greek epikoinos “common to many, promiscuous,” from epi “on” (see epi-) + koinos “common” (see coeno-). Extended sense of “characteristic of both sexes” first recorded in English c.1600; that of “effeminate” 1630s.

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