epicene

Meaning

Adj

1. (not-comparable) 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.).
2. (not-comparable) Of or relating to nouns or pronouns in any language that have a single form for male and female referents.
3. (broadly, not-comparable) Suitable for use regardless of sex; unisex.
4. (figuratively, not-comparable) 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.
5. (broadly, not-comparable) Indeterminate; mixed.
6. (broadly, derogatory, not-comparable, usually) Of a man: effeminate.

Noun

1. An epicene word; preceded by the: the epicene words of a language as a class.
2. (figuratively) An epicene person, whether biologically asexual, androgynous, hermaphrodite, or intersex; an androgyne, a hermaphrodite.
3. (broadly) A transsexual; also, a transvestite.
4. (broadly, derogatory, usually) An effeminate man.

Synonyms

bisexual

effeminate

emasculate

epicene person

cissy

sissified

sissy

sissyish

androgyne

gynandromorph

intersex

hermaphrodite

androgynous

feminine

♀️

hermaphroditism

hermaphroditic

effiminate

unmanly

weak

womanish

Translations

épicène

efféminé

epiceno

gemeenslachtig

androgyn

geslachtloos

androgino

epiceno

androgyne

efeminado

andrógino

hermafrodita

ermafrodito

hermaphrodite

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛp.ɪˌsiːn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: epicene

In summary

From Late Middle English epicene, epicen, epicin, epcyn, episcen, epycen, epycene, epycyn, ypsen (“(grammar) having only one form for masculine and feminine gender, common”), from Late Latin epicoenos, epicoenus (“of a noun: applicable to either males or females”), Latin epicoenon (“noun applicable to either males or females; grammatical gender of such nouns”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίκοινος (epíkoinos, “common to many people, things, etc.; promiscuous, sluttish”) (compare γένος ἐπίκοινον (génos epíkoinon, “common gender”)), from ἐπι- (epi-, prefix meaning ‘on, upon; on top of; all over’) + κοινός (koinós, “common; general, public”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”) + *-yós (suffix forming adjectives from noun stems)).