Epicene \Ep"i*cene\, a. & n. [L. epicoenus, Gr. ?; fr. 'epi` + ?
common; cf. F. ['e]pic[`e]ne.]
1. Common to both sexes; -- a term applied, in grammar, to
such nouns as have but one form of gender, either the
masculine or feminine, to indicate animals of both sexes;
as boy^s, bos, for the ox and cow; sometimes applied to
eunuchs and hermaphrodites.
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2. Fig.: Sexless; neither one thing nor the other.
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The literary prigs epicene. --Prof.
Wilson.
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He represented an epicene species, neither churchman
nor layman. --J. A.
Symonds.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
epicene
adj 1: having an ambiguous sexual identity [syn: bisexual]
2: having unsuitable feminine qualities [syn: effeminate, emasculate,
cissy, sissified, sissyish, sissy]
WordNet (r) 2.0
bisexual, cissy, effeminate, emasculate, sissified, sissy, sissyish
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