hermaphrodite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɝˈmæfɹədaɪt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hermofrodite,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Medieval Latin hermofroditus,^[2][3] from Latin hermaphrodītus,^{[2][3][6][4][5][7]} from Ancient Greek ἑρμαφρόδιτος (hermaphróditos), originally the proper name Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite.^{[2][3][6][4][5][7]} In the myth told by Ovid, the nymph Salmacis loved him so ardently that she prayed to be joined with him, and the two were united in one body combining male and female characteristics.^[6][3][7][8] The word was known in Old French in the 13th century, but the Middle English spelling points to borrowing from Medieval Latin.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A human being or animal having both male and female sexual parts (late 14th century in Etymonline and Merriam-Webster; 1398 in the OED; probably about 1408 in Barnhart, with hermofrodita before 1387).^[6][4][9][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word was also used figuratively of a person who improperly held two offices.^[6] By the 1590s it could mean an effeminate man or a masculine woman.^[9] In the 18th century naturalists applied it to animals such as earthworms and to flowers bearing both stamens and pistils (1727–41).^[9][2][4] A general figurative sense, a person or thing combining two opposite qualities, appears in 1659,^[9] and from 1794 a sailing vessel combining two rigs was called a hermaphrodite, especially the hermaphrodite brig.^[9][6] As an adjective the word dates from about 1600.^[6][9]

Timeline

• before 1387 – hermofrodita.^[3]
• 1398 – a person or animal with characteristics of both sexes.^[9]
• 1607 – adjective.^[9]
• 1659 – figuratively, a combination of opposites.^[9]
• 1727–41 – in zoology and botany.^[9]
• 1794 – a ship combining two kinds of rig.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An organism, such as an earthworm or a monoclinous plant, having both male and female reproductive organs.
2. A person having reproductive organs or sexual characteristics of both sexes.
3. Something that combines diverse or opposite elements.

Adjective

1. Having both male and female reproductive organs; hermaphroditic.

Word family

• hermaphroditic
• hermaphroditically
• hermaphroditism
• hermaphrodism
• pseudohermaphrodite

Related words

• Hermes
• Aphrodite
• androgyne
• androgynous
• intersex

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that intersex is now the preferred term for humans, and that hermaphrodite applied to intersex people is now considered a slur.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press