n. & adj.
n. 1 a Zool. an animal having both male and female sexual organs. b Bot. a plant having stamens and pistils in the same flower. 2 a human being in which both male and female sex organs are present, or in which the sex organs contain both ovarian and testicular tissue. 3 a person or thing combining opposite qualities or characteristics.
adj. 1 combining both sexes. 2 combining opposite qualities or characteristics. hermaphrodite brig hist. a two-masted sailing ship rigged on the foremast as a brig and on the mainmast as a schooner. hermaphroditic adj. hermaphroditical adj. hermaphroditism n.
[ L hermaphroditus f. Gk hermaphroditos, orig. the name of a son of Hermes and Aphrodite in Greek mythology, who became joined in one body with the nymph Salmacis ]