Zwitter

German

Etymology

From Middle High German zwitarn (“bastard; hermaphrodite”), from Old High German zwitarn (“bastard”). The first part is the prefix zwie- (“two-, bi-”), but the identity of the second part is unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtsvɪtər/, [ˈt͡sʋɪtɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Zwit‧ter

Noun

Zwitter m (strong, genitive Zwitters, plural Zwitter)

1. (biology) hermaphrodite (individual or organism having both male and female gonads)

   Synonym: Hermaphrodit

2. (figuratively, chiefly in compounds) hybrid (something of mixed components)

   Synonyms: Hybride, Hybrid

3. (figuratively, chiefly in compounds) something showing incompatible attributes
4. (obsolete) a child born of a relation considered illicit or incongruous (born out of wedlock, of different social classes, and/or of different races); a bastard; a mongrel

   Synonyms: Bankert, Bastard, Blendling, Kebskind, Kegel, Mischling

Declension

Declension of Zwitter [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Zwitter	die	Zwitter
genitive	eines	des	Zwitters	der	Zwitter
dative	einem	dem	Zwitter	den	Zwittern
accusative	einen	den	Zwitter	die	Zwitter

Derived terms

• Zwitterding
• Zwitterblüte
• Zwitterform
• zwitterhaft
• Zwitterion
• Zwitterstellung
• Zwitterwesen
• zwittrig
• Zwittrigkeit

References

Descendants

• → Kashubian: cwiter

Further reading

• “Zwitter” in Duden online
• “Zwitter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache