two-spirit

or Two-Spir·it

[ too-spir-it ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

(among some Indigenous North American peoples)
1. a person, especially someone assigned male at birth, who adopts the gender identity, dress, and social roles traditionally assigned to a different gender.
2. a person who adopts some combination of male and female gender identity, dress, and social roles, or who identifies as gay, lesbian, transgender, etc.
3. any of numerous culturally distinct genders apart from male and female.

adjective

being or relating to a person who is a two-spirit.

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Other Words From

two-spir·it·ed adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of two-spirit¹

Coined in 1990 by Cree educator Myra Laramee at the third annual Intertribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference; coined concurrently with Ojibwe niizh manidoowag “two spirits,” from niizh “two” + manidoo “spirit” ( manitou ( def ) ) + -wag, plural suffix

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