| epicene gender |
| Definition - A term from Latin and Greek grammar that is used to label nouns that can denote either sex without changing their grammatical gender. |
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Etymology - The term derives from the Latin epicoenus, common (ultimately from from the Greek epi-, on + koinos, common.) |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from circa 1528: "Wherefor all gendyrs dysconte[nt] be … The dubyum & the epysyn Also." (Impeachm. Wolsey in Furniv. Ballads fr. MSS. I. 356) |
