epicene

pronunciation

How to pronounce epicene in British English: UK [ˈepɪsi:n]word uk audio image

How to pronounce epicene in American English: US [ˈɛpɪˌsin] word us audio image

  • Adjective:
    having an ambiguous sexual identity
    having unsuitable feminine qualities

Word Origin

epicene (adj.)
"belonging to or including both sexes," 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-). English has no need of it in its grammatical sense. Extended sense of "characteristic of both sexes" first recorded in English c. 1600; that of "effeminate" is from 1630s.

Example

1. Judy is an epicene person .
2. We could all remain perpetual children , clean , happy , epicene peter pans .

more: >How to Use "epicene" with Example Sentences