Androgyne

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæn.dɹə.d͡ʒaɪn/

Definitions

1. A person who embodies or expresses both masculine and feminine characteristics in appearance, identity, or behavior
2. a being displaying a blend of masculine and feminine traits in physical form or personal presentation
3. an individual characterized by the combination of both male and female qualities in appearance or manner

Etymology: The Greek roots behind "androgyne" are simple and literal: "anēr" (genitive "andros") meant "man" and "gynē" meant "woman." Joined together, they formed "androgynos," a word that described a being combining male and female traits. Ancient Greek writers used it in this sense, and the idea took on mythic weight through Plato's "Symposium," where the comic poet Aristophanes tells of humans originally created with two sets of organs, split apart by the gods into the men and women we know now. The Latin "androgynus" carried the word into the medieval and early modern worlds, and French "androgyne" followed from it. Its meaning in those languages often centred on a literal, physical sense of a person or creature with both sexes, which is also why the term appeared in discussions of hermaphroditism and of mythological figures. Over time the word broadened from that biological or mythic image toward a more general description of blended masculine and feminine qualities in appearance, behaviour, or identity.

Synonyms: hermaphrodite, genderqueer, ambiguous, nonbinary, gender-fluid