berdache

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.4 Usage notes 1.5 Anagrams

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From French bardache, from Italian bardascia, perhaps from Arabic بردج (bardaj) ‘slave’. Compare bardash.

[edit] Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /bə'daʃ/

[edit] Noun

berdache (plural berdache)

1. (anthropology) Among North American Indians, a transvestite or transgendered person.
   • 2005: Male berdache have been documented in nearly 150 North American societies, while female berdache (females who take on the lifeways of males) appear in half as many groups. — Michael J Horswell, Decolonizing the Sodomite (University of Texas 2006, p. 20)

[edit] Usage notes

The term has been rejected by many Native American communities as pejorative (because of its etymology) and is now often replaced by two-spirit.

[edit] Anagrams

• Alphagram: abcdeehr
• breached