hermaphrodite
Biology. an organism, such as an earthworm or plant, having both male and female reproductive organs at the same time or throughout the lifespan.
Older Use: Offensive.
a person who has both testicular and ovarian tissue.: Compare pseudohermaphrodite.
any intersex person.
something in which two opposite qualities are combined.
Biology. of, relating to, or characteristic of an organism having both male and female reproductive organs.: See also gynandrous.
Botany. monoclinous.
combining two opposite qualities.
Origin of hermaphrodite
1usage note For hermaphrodite
Other words from hermaphrodite
- her·maph·ro·dit·ic [hur-maf-ruh-dit-ik], /hɜrˌmæf rəˈdɪt ɪk/, her·maph·ro·dit·i·cal, adjective
- her·maph·ro·dit·i·cal·ly, adverb
- her·maph·ro·dit·ism [hur-maf-ruh-dahy-tiz-uhm], /hɜrˈmæf rə daɪˌtɪz əm/, her·maph·ro·dism [hur-maf-ruh-diz-uhm], /hɜrˈmæf rəˌdɪz əm/, noun
Words Nearby hermaphrodite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hermaphrodite in a sentence
Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi seems to produce its own eggs and sperm, making it a “self-fertilizing hermaphrodite.”
What do you call a tiny tarantula killer? Jeff Daniels. | Purbita Saha | January 26, 2022 | Popular-ScienceThe implication is that using forks was—like being a hermaphrodite—a kind of sexual abnormality.
The Strange Way We Eat: Bee Wilson’s ‘Consider the Fork’ | Bee Wilson | October 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTSo embroiled in fact, that his sex was impossible to determine; he looked like a little hermaphrodite.
How My Little Slice of Heaven Became My Toddler's Hell | Laura Bennett | October 21, 2008 | THE DAILY BEASThermaphrodite mollusks, with a marvellously complicated sexual apparatus, ought also to be studied separately.
The Natural Philosophy of Love | Remy de GourmontThe amphioxus, the bridge between invertebrates and vertebrates, is not hermaphrodite.
The Natural Philosophy of Love | Remy de Gourmont
Each worm is bisexual or hermaphrodite, on which account they multiply with great rapidity.
A Treatise on Sheep: | Ambrose BlacklockAnd therefore natural philosophers say, that an hermaphrodite is impotent in the privy parts of a man, as appears by experience.
The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher | AnonymousThey are in a hermaphrodite condition, out of which they develop into either males or females.
Schenk's Theory: The Determination of Sex | Samuel Leopold Schenk
British Dictionary definitions for hermaphrodite
/ (hɜːˈmæfrəˌdaɪt) /
biology an individual animal or flower that has both male and female reproductive organs
a person having both male and female sexual characteristics and genital tissues
a person or thing in which two opposite forces or qualities are combined
having the characteristics of a hermaphrodite
Origin of hermaphrodite
1Derived forms of hermaphrodite
- hermaphroditic or hermaphroditical, adjective
- hermaphroditically, adverb
- hermaphroditism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hermaphrodite
[ hər-măf′rə-dīt′ ]
An organism, such as an earthworm or flowering plant, having both male and female reproductive organs in a single individual.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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