third gender

American  

[thurd jen-der] / ˈθɜrd ˈdʒɛn dər /

noun

1. Anthropology. any of various gender classifications in societies that recognize a gender other than male or female.

2. a person who identifies as a gender other than male or female or as neither male nor female.

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adjective

1. being or relating to a person who belongs to a gender classification or identifies as a gender other than male or female.

Etymology

Origin of third gender

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Rongen also had to heal with the trauma surrounding defender Jaiyah Saelua, a fa’afafine, or third gender, in Polynesian society.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2023

In 2014, the Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender in a landmark ruling, granting certain rights to them and giving them the power to "advocate with the government".

From BBC • Oct. 15, 2023

In India, a third gender known as hijras have been documented as far back as the Middle Ages and are recognized as an official third gender in Indian countries throughout the subcontinent.

From Salon • May 22, 2023

Supreme Court rulings allow them to self-identify as a third gender, neither male nor female, and have underscored they have the same rights as all Pakistani citizens.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2023

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, writing in Germany in 1860, spoke of das dritte Geschlecht, the third gender.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides