I. ˈepəˌsēn adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin epicoenus, from Greek epikoinos, from epi- + koinos common — more at co-
1. : having but one form to indicate either male or female sex (as Latin bos “a bull, ox, or cow”) — used of a noun
2. : having characteristics typical of the other sex : intersexual
his brothers suspect the epicene wife because of her masculine arms — R.H.Lowie
: effeminate
3. : lacking the typical characteristics of either sex : sexless
perpetual children … happy epicene Peter Pans — Dwight Macdonald
4. : lacking vigor
recent epicene treatises … withdraw from the major task of evaluating significance — Ephraim Fischoff
: lacking vigorous masculinity
the hearty sportsman … really epicene beneath his tweeds — Wolcott Gibbs
: delicate
a swift epicene felicity of wit — Evelyn Waugh
II. noun
( -s )
: one who is epicene