Epicene

Quick meaning: Epicene is an adjective meaning (linguistics) Of or relating to nouns or pronouns in any language that have a single form for male and female referents.

Meaning

(linguistics) Of or relating to nouns or pronouns in any language that have a single form for male and female referents.

More Meanings

1. (by extension) Suitable for use regardless of sex; unisex.
2. (by extension) Indeterminate; mixed.
3. (by extension, usually derogatory) Of a man: effeminate.
4. (linguistics) An epicene word; preceded by the: the epicene words of a language as a class.
5. (linguistics) Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.).
6. (biology and figuratively) Of indeterminate sex, whether asexual, androgynous, hermaphrodite, or intersex; of a human face, intermediate in form between a man's face and a woman's face.
7. (biology and figuratively) An epicene person, whether biologically asexual, androgynous, hermaphrodite, or intersex; an androgyne, a hermaphrodite.

Example Sentences

In many names of animals, the same word with the same gender is used for both sexes: ἡ ἁλὠπηξ the fox, male or female. These are said to be epicoene.

Five High School boys came down the road abreast. Ellis saw them coming, a row of yellow, malicious faces—epicene faces, horribly smooth and young, grinning at him with deliberate insolence.

The 1960's may well be remembered as the epicene era. Boys grew long hair and bangs; girls adopted trousers, vests and peaked caps – and with everyone wearing tight pants and boots, your guess is as good as ours whether that was a guy or a gal who just went by!

Boating when epicene is nice, in truth, / E'en though one must allow, / The danger of giving the helm to youth / While pleasure rules the prow. / [...] / 'Tis best when Frank takes his cousin ashore, / She loves botanising, / While Sissy who's left, can handle an oar / In a manner surprising.

Word Forms

• epicoene
• epicenes

Synonyms for epicene

Depending on context, synonyms include common, gynandromorphic, gynandrous, sissy, effeminate, androgynous.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include unmanly, effeminate, bisexual, sissified, cissy, sissy.

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