Etymology

two-spirit

two-spir·it

Today it means: Involving two spirits; especially, pertaining to the doctrine of dualism espoused in the so-called Treatise on the Two Spirits in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Full definition →

First used 1990Ojibwe niizh manidoowag
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two-spirit · adjective1

PIE word *dwóh₁ From two + spirit.

two-spirit · noun, adjective2

  1. Ojibwe · derived fromniizh manidoowag“two spirits”
  2. English todaytwo-spirit

The noun is derived from two + spirit, coined in 1990 at the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, based on Ojibwe niizh manidoowag (“two spirits”) (coined at the same conference), from niizh (“two”) + manidoo (“spirit”) + -wag (suffix denoting the third-person plural of an animate noun); the term was created to replace berdache in anthropological literature which was considered offensive. The adjective is derived from the noun.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1990 A Native North American bisexual, homosexual, or gender-variant person; especially one belonging to a traditional tribal third-gender, fourth-gender, or transgender cultural category that has a ceremonial role.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.