epicene
Americanadjective
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lacking the typical characteristics of a particular gender or sex; sexless.
Fashions in clothing are becoming increasingly epicene.
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an epicene style of writing.
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effeminate; unmasculine.
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(of Greek and Latin nouns) of the same gender class regardless of the sex of the individual referred to, as the grammatically feminine Latin vulpēs “fox.”
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Grammar. (of a noun or pronoun) capable of referring to any individual regardless of sex, as attendant, chairperson, Pat, one, or they; having common gender.
noun
adjective
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having the characteristics of both sexes; hermaphroditic
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of neither sex; sexless
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effeminate
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grammar
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denoting a noun that may refer to a male or a female, such as teacher as opposed to businessman or shepherd
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(in Latin, Greek, etc) denoting a noun that retains the same grammatical gender regardless of the sex of the referent
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noun
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an epicene person or creature
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an epicene noun
Other Word Forms
- epicenism noun
Etymology
Origin of epicene
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin epicoenus “of both genders,” from Greek epíkoinos “common to many,” equivalent to epi- epi- + koinós “common”
Explanation
To be epicene is to be androgynous, or projecting characteristics of both sexes. For both men and women, it is a melding of the two into an ambiguous sexual identity. The roots of epicene derive from the Greek epikoinos meant "common to many," and later the Latin epicoenus, meaning "of both genders." Both lay the groundwork for the word, which refers to displaying characteristics of both genders. T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Along the garden-wall the bees/With hairy bellies pass between/The staminate and pistillate/Blest office of the epicene," referring in this poem to the shared sexual characteristics in a single flower as epicene — an apt example of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing epicene
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In “Los Angeles Plays Itself,” still the best documentary ever made about the city and its architecture, director Thom Andersen wonders why “modernist architecture connotes epicene villainy” in so many movies.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2017
He titled his recent memoir, Master of Ceremonies, borrowing the name from his best-known role, the menacing, epicene emcee of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, a part he recreated for the Bob Fosse movie version.
From The Guardian • Sep. 26, 2016
Setting thin, epicene Aubrey Beardsley-like figures against colorful art deco backgrounds, Nielsen was one of the most admired early 20th-century book illustrators, the equal to Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham.
From Washington Post • Dec. 7, 2015
And Hillary is one of those epicene names—like Ashley, Kim and Vivian—that are more predominantly feminine in the U.S. than elsewhere in the Anglosphere.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 17, 2015
They looked very much alike, with heavy dark-blond hair and epicene faces as clear, as cheerful and grave, as a couple of Flemish angels.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
