third gender

American  

[thurd jen-der] / ˈθɜrd ˈdʒɛn dər /

noun

1. Anthropology. any of various gender classifications in societies that recognize a gender other than male or female.

2. a person who identifies as a gender other than male or female or as neither male nor female.

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adjective

1. being or relating to a person who belongs to a gender classification or identifies as a gender other than male or female.

Etymology

Origin of third gender

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

In 2014, India's Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a "third gender" and affirmed their right to self-identify.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Rongen also had to heal with the trauma surrounding defender Jaiyah Saelua, a fa’afafine, or third gender, in Polynesian society.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2023

For centuries Mexico's indigenous Zapotec people have recognized a third sex known as "muxes," a third gender that includes both masculine and feminine traits.

From Salon • May 22, 2023

“We’ve been around for millennia,” she told The Spinoff, citing long-established concepts of gender fluidity in Pacific nations, including fa’afafine, a Samoan word for people of a third gender.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2023

Malta and Nepal join the list of countries offering their citizens the choice of an official third gender.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater