epicene

== English == === Etymology === 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)). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɛp.ɪˌsiːn/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɛp.əˌsin/ Hyphenation: epi‧cene === Adjective === epicene (not comparable) (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.). (linguistics) Of or relating to nouns or pronouns in any language that have a single form for male and female referents. Synonym: common (by extension) Suitable for use regardless of sex; unisex. (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. Synonyms: gynandromorphic, gynandrous (by extension) Indeterminate; mixed. (by extension, usually derogatory) Of a man: effeminate. ==== Alternative forms ==== epicœne, epicoene (obsolete) ==== Derived terms ==== epicene pronoun epicenism epicenity ==== Translations ==== === Noun === epicene (plural epicenes) (linguistics) An epicene word; preceded by the: the epicene words of a language as a class. (biology and figuratively) An epicene person, whether biologically asexual, androgynous, hermaphrodite, or intersex; an androgyne, a hermaphrodite. [from 17th c.] (by extension) A transsexual; also, a transvestite. (by extension, usually derogatory) An effeminate man. ==== Translations ==== === Notes === === References === === Further reading === epicenity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == Italian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /e.piˈt͡ʃɛ.ne/ Rhymes: -ɛne Hyphenation: e‧pi‧cè‧ne === Adjective === epicene feminine plural of epiceno