[gen.der] n [ME gendre, fr. MF genre, gendre, fr. L gener-, genus birth, race, kind, gender--more at kin] (14c) 1 a: a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms b: membership of a word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c: an inflectional form showing membership in such a subclass
2. a: sex "black divinities of the feminine ~ --Charles Dickens" b: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex
[2]gender vb gen.dered ; gen.der.ing [ME gendren, fr. MF gendrer, fr. L generare--more at generate] (14c): engender