Meanings
nounhermaphrodite (plural hermaphrodites)
plural hermaphrodites
- biologyDichogamous: an organism which begins its life as one sex and changes its sex over its life cycle.
Comb jellies are sequential hermaphrodites.
- datedoffensiveA person or thing possessing two opposing qualities.
- nauticalA hermaphrodite brig.
- A farm wagon convertible to multiple purposes.
- World War IhistoricalgovernmentAn armoured fighting vehicle having features of both male tanks and female tanks.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveof animal or plant; having both male female reproductive organs
Similar
nounone having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made
Similar
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Hermaphroditus, the mythical son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who merged bodies with a naiad, thereafter having both male and female qualities.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἑρμαφρόδιτος, ἀνδρόγυνος
- ἑρμαφρόδιτος (hermaphróditos)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- ἀνδρόγυνος (andrógunos)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Arabic خُنْثَى, خُنْثَوِيّ
- خُنْثَى (ḵunṯā)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- خُنْثَوِيّ (ḵunṯawiyy)having both male and female gonads
Bulgarian хермафродит, хермафродитен
- хермафродит (hermafrodit)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- хермафродитен (hermafroditen)having both male and female gonads
Catalan hermafrodita
- hermafroditaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Chinese Mandarin 陰陽人 /阴阳人, 兩性人 /两性人
- 陰陽人 /阴阳人 (yīnyángrén)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- 兩性人 /两性人 (liǎngxìngrén)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- 雌雄同體的 /雌雄同体的 (cíxióng tóngtǐ de)having both male and female gonads
Czech hermafrodit, obojetník
- hermafroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- obojetníkorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Danish hermafrodit, tvekønnet
- hermafroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- tvekønnethaving both male and female gonads
- hermafroditiskhaving both male and female gonads
Dutch hermafrodiet, hermafrodiet
- hermafrodietorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodiethaving both male and female gonads
- hermafrodietehaving both male and female gonads
Esperanto hermafrodito, androgino
- hermafroditoorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- androginoorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- ambaŭseksuloorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafroditahaving both male and female gonads
Estonian hermafrodiit
- hermafrodiitorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Finnish hermafrodiitti, hermafrodiitti
- hermafrodiittiorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodiittihaving both male and female gonads
French hermaphrodite, hermaphrodite
- hermaphroditeorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermaphroditehaving both male and female gonads
- bisexuéhaving both male and female gonads
- bisexuéehaving both male and female gonads
German Zwitter, Hermaphrodit
- Zwitterorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- Hermaphroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- Hermaphroditinorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- Zweigeschlechtorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermaphroditischhaving both male and female gonads
- zwittrighaving both male and female gonads
Greek ερμαφρόδιτος, ερμαφρόδιτη
- ερμαφρόδιτος (ermafróditos)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- ερμαφρόδιτη (ermafróditi)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Hebrew הרמפרודיט
- הרמפרודיט (hermafrodit)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Hindi हिजड़ा
- हिजड़ा (hijṛā)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Icelandic tvíkynjungur, tvítóla
- tvíkynjungurorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- tvítólahaving both male and female gonads
- tvítólaðurhaving both male and female gonads
- tvítólihaving both male and female gonads
Irish idirghnéas, cadar
- idirghnéasorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- cadarorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- idirghnéasachhaving both male and female gonads
Italian ermafrodito
- ermafroditoorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Japanese 双成り, 雌雄同体
- 双成り (futanari)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- 雌雄同体 (shiyuudoutai)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- 半陰陽の (han'in'yō no)having both male and female gonads
- 雌雄同体の (shiyūdōtai no)having both male and female gonads
Lithuanian hermafroditas
- hermafroditasorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Malay khunsa, hermafrodit
- khunsaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodithaving both male and female gonads
- khunsahaving both male and female gonads
Norwegian Bokmål hermafroditt, hermafrodittisk
- hermafrodittorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodittiskhaving both male and female gonads
- tvekjønnahaving both male and female gonads
- tvekjønnethaving both male and female gonads
Persian نرماده
- نرماده (narmāde)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Polish hermafrodyta, obojnak
- hermafrodytaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- obojnakorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodycznyhaving both male and female gonads
- hermafrodycznycombining two opposing qualities
Portuguese hermafrodita, andrógino
- hermafroditaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- andróginoorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- dígamoorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafroditahaving both male and female gonads
- ambivalentecombining two opposing qualities
Romanian hermafrodit, hermafrodit
- hermafroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafrodithaving both male and female gonads
Russian гермафроди́т, гермафроди́тный
- гермафроди́т (germafrodít)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- гермафроди́тный (germafrodítnyj)having both male and female gonads
Spanish hermafrodita, hermafrodita
- hermafroditaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafroditahaving both male and female gonads
Swahili huntha
- hunthaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Swedish hermafrodit
- hermafroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Tagalog balakihan
- balakihanorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Thai แต๋ว
- แต๋ว (dtɛ̌o)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Turkish erdişi, hermafrodit
- erdişiorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hermafroditorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- erselikorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
- hünsaorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Ukrainian гермафроди́т
- гермафроди́т (hermafrodýt)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Urdu ہیجڑا
- ہیجڑا (hijṛa)organism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Vietnamese người ái nam ái nữ
- người ái nam ái nữorganism having both male and female gonads; person not prototypically male or female
Cite this entry
APA
hermaphrodite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermaphrodite
MLA
“hermaphrodite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermaphrodite. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hermaphrodite,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermaphrodite.
Source: hermaphrodite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.