androgynous

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin androgynus (“man-woman, hermaphrodite”), from Ancient Greek ἀνδρόγῠνος (andrógunos), from ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”) +‎ γῠνή (gunḗ, “woman”) +‎ -ος (-os, “-ous”, adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation[edit]

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ænˈdɹɒd͡ʒ.ɪn.əs/
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ænˈdɹɑd͡ʒ.ən.əs/
Rhymes: -ɒdʒɪnəs

Adjective[edit]

androgynous (comparative more androgynous, superlative most androgynous)

Possessing the sex organs of both sexes. [from the earlier 17th c.]
Pertaining to a feature or characteristic that is not definitively of either sex.
- 1993, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 199:
  My name is androgynous, in pronunciation at least – Lauren sounds like the more masculine Loren.
Nicknames like Pat, Sam, and Chris are androgynous, used by both men and women.
Possessing qualities of both sexes.
- September 1, 1832, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Table-Talk
  The truth is, a great mind must be androgynous.
(of a connector or docking port) Able to connect to another connector or port of the same type, rather than being restricted to connecting to solely male or solely female connectors or ports.
APAS is an androgynous docking system, so - in principle, at least - any APAS-equipped vehicle should be able to hook up with any other, without having to worry about matching male with female ports.

Synonyms[edit]

epicene; hermaphrodite (sometimes proscribed)

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

having sex organs of both genders — see hermaphroditic

pertaining to a characteristic that is not definitively of either sex

Asturian: andróxinu
Catalan: androgin
Chinese:
Mandarin: 不男不女 (bùnánbùnǚ)
Finnish: androgyyninen; sukupuolineutraali
French: asexué, androgyne
Galician: andróxino
German: geschlechtsneutral, androgyn
Greek: ανδρόγυνος m (andrógynos)
Hungarian: uniszex
Irish: andraigíneach
Portuguese: andrógino
Romanian: androgin
Spanish: andrógino
Welsh: androgynaidd

possessing qualities of both sexes

Dutch: tweeslachtig, androgyn, hermafrodiet
Finnish: androgyyninen
French: androgyne m or f, hermaphrodite
German: androgyn
Hungarian: hímnős, androgün
Indonesian : jantina
Japanese: 両性具有 (りょうせいぐゆう, ryōsei guyū)
Polish: androgyniczny m, androginiczny m
Portuguese: andrógino m
Romanian: androgin
Russian: двупо́лый (dvupólyj)
Spanish: andrógino
Welsh: androgynaidd

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} хермафродитен (hermafroditen)
Estonian: ^{(please verify)} androgüünne
Italian: ^{(please verify)} androgino
Turkish: ^{(please verify)} çift cinsiyetli