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épicène. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
épicène, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
épicène in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
épicène you have here. The definition of the word
épicène will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
épicène, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
French
Etymology
From Latin epicoenus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίκοινος (epíkoinos).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /e.pi.sɛn/
Adjective
épicène (plural épicènes)
- epicene (lacking gender distinction); neuter, gender-neutral
- Camille, Claude, Dominique, Maxime ou Christel sont des prénoms épicènes. ― Camille, Claude, Dominique, Maxime, and Christel are gender-neutral given names.
1835, Napoléon Landais, Grammaire : résumé général de toutes les grammaires françaises, page 222:Les noms du genre épicène sont des noms d’animaux, qui, sous une même terminaison, sont invariablement d’un même genre déterminé, quoiqu’ils servent à exprimer les individus des deux sexes.- The nouns of epicene gender are names of animals, which, with the same ending, are invariably of the same determined gender, although they serve to express individuals of both sexes.
See also
Further reading