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Glite Dictionary
epicene person

epicene person

9.9
A person born with both male and female body parts so it is unclear if they are male or female
  • noun
  • /ˈɛpɪsiːn ˈpɜrsən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : persona epicena
  • The doctors determined that the newborn was an epicene person, requiring further genetic testing.

Examples

  • An epicene person may face complex social and medical challenges throughout life.

  • The study examined the experiences of epicene persons in different cultures.

  • An epicene person may not identify strictly as male or female.

  • The term epicene person is used in various discussions about gender.

  • An epicene person often navigates a unique set of experiences in society due to their mixed sexual characteristics.

  • The hospital's medical team carefully monitored the epicene person to ensure proper care was provided.

  • In many cultures, being an epicene person can lead to both challenges and opportunities for self-expression.

Synonyms

hermaphrodite
vsepicene person
  • Offensive
11 8.9

A person, animal, or plant with both male and female sex organs

is limited to people whose sex cannot be clearly assigned at birth
epicene
vsepicene person
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A person born with both male and female body parts

uses a more explicit phrase to stress that the description applies to people
androgyne
vsepicene person
  • Specialized
9.9

A person born with both male and female sexual parts

focuses on inability to assign biological sex clearly at birth

Surface Forms

epicene person singular
epicene persons plural

Morphology

epicene + person

The meaning is directly compositional: 'epicene' specifies having both male and female traits and 'person' denotes a human, so 'epicene person' straightforwardly means a human with both sets of traits. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings would understand this phrase.

Etymology

Epicene person comes from old words that meant 'both sexes', creating a simple image of someone with features of a man and a woman. That's why today epicene person is used to mean a person who has both 'male' and 'female' sexual characteristics.