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Gender - 10 dictionary results
Gender
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gen⋅der

1  [jen-der]
Use Gender in a Sentence
–noun
1. Grammar.
a. (in many languages) a set of classes that together include all nouns, membership in a particular class being shown by the form of the noun itself or by the form or choice of words that modify, replace, or otherwise refer to the noun, as, in English, the choice of he to replace the man, of she to replace the woman, of it to replace the table, of it or she to replace the ship. The number of genders in different languages varies from 2 to more than 20; often the classification correlates in part with sex or animateness. The most familiar sets of genders are of three classes (as masculine, feminine, and neuter in Latin and German) or of two (as common and neuter in Dutch, or masculine and feminine in French and Spanish).
b. one class of such a set.
c. such classes or sets collectively or in general.
d. membership of a word or grammatical form, or an inflectional form showing membership, in such a class.
2. sex: the feminine gender.
3. Archaic. kind, sort, or class.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF gendre, genre < L gener- (s. of genus) kind, sort

Related forms:
gen⋅der⋅less, adjective

gen⋅der

2  [jen-der]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
1. Archaic. to engender.
2. Obsolete. to breed.
Origin:
1300–50; ME gendren, genderen < MF gendrer < L generāre to beget, deriv. of genus gender 1 , genus1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Gender
gen·der   (jěn'dər)   
n.  
  1. Grammar
    1. A grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.
    2. One category of such a set.
    3. The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category.
    4. The distinguishing form or forms used.
    5. The condition of being female or male; sex.
    6. Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.
  2. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.
    1. The condition of being female or male; sex.
    2. Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.
tr.v.   gen·dered, gen·der·ing, gen·ders
To engender.

[Middle English gendre, from Old French, kind, gender, from Latin genus, gener-; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
gen'der·less adj.
Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter," but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Gender

Gen"der\, n. [OF. genre, gendre (with excrescent d.), F. genre, fr. L. genus, generis, birth, descent, race, kind, gender, fr. the root of genere, gignere, to beget, in pass., to be born, akin to E. kin. See Kin, and cf. Generate, Genre, Gentle, Genus.]

1. Kind; sort. [Obs.] "One gender of herbs." --Shak.

2. Sex, male or female. [Obs. or Colloq.]

3. (Gram.) A classification of nouns, primarily according to sex; and secondarily according to some fancied or imputed quality associated with sex.

Gender is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only. Sex is natural distinction and applies to living objects. --R. Morris.

Note: Adjectives and pronouns are said to vary in gender when the form is varied according to the gender of the words to which they refer.

Gender

Gen"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gendered; p. pr. & vb. n. Gendering.] [OF. gendrer, fr. L. generare. See Gender, n.] To beget; to engender.

Gender

Gen"der\, v. i. To copulate; to breed. [R.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Gender
Spanish: género,
German: das Genus, das Geschlecht,
Japanese: 性
More Translations »

gender

A grammatical category indicating the sex, or lack of sex, of nouns and pronouns. The three genders are masculine, feminine, and neuter. He is a masculine pronoun; she is a feminine pronoun; it is a neuter pronoun. Nouns are classified by gender according to the gender of the pronoun that can substitute for them. In English, gender is directly indicated only by pronouns.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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gender 
c.1300, from O.Fr. gendre, from stem of L. genus (gen. generis) "kind, sort, gender," also "sex" (see genus); used to translate from Gk. Aristotle's grammatical term genos. As sex took on erotic qualities in 20c., gender came to be used for "sex of a human being," often in feminist writing with reference to social attributes as much as biological qualities; this sense first attested 1963. Gender-bender is first attested 1980, with reference to pop star David Bowie.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: gen·der
Pronunciation: 'jen-d&r
Function: noun
1 : SEX 1
2 : the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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gender gen·der (jěn'dər)
n.

  1. The sex of an individual, male or female, based on reproductive anatomy.
  2. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Gender
 Take A Free Gender Prediction Quiz & Find Out If It's A Boy Or Girl!
 www.TopBabyNames.com
Will it be a Boy or Girl?
 Try This Quick & Free Wizard to Predict the Gender of Your Baby!
 PregnancyToday.com/Gender