英语词汇“epicene”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

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To be epicene is to be androgynous, or projecting characteristics of both sexes. For both men and women, it is a melding of the two into an ambiguous sexual identity.

The roots of epicene derive from the Greek epikoinos meant "common to many," and later the Latin epicoenus, meaning "of both genders." Both lay the groundwork for the word, which refers to displaying characteristics of both genders. T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Along the garden-wall the bees/With hairy bellies pass between/The staminate and pistillate/Blest office of the epicene," referring in this poem to the shared sexual characteristics in a single flower as epicene — an apt example of the word.

VOCABULARY SHOUT-OUT

"Aladdin" Jafar Styled for Broadway as "Epicene Menace"

If you're looking for vocabulary-rich writing, read reviews. Perhaps because a reviewer's job is to describe what we haven't yet seen (or read or heard or played), the best reviewers reach for words that are highly specific and evocative, and then string them together in ways that are amusing in their own right.

Writing about Disney's new Broadway adaptation of Aladdin, New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood used the deliciously sibilant epicene when he described Jonathan Freeman's Jafar as an "epicene menace."

Unsurprisingly, and after perhaps a few too many trips around the bazaar, this bunch triumphs over the machinations of the nasty Jafar, played with epicene menace and great lashings of eyeliner by Jonathan Freeman (reprising his role from the movie), whose animal sidekick has also been transformed into a human one, a mini-meanie called Iago (Don Darryl Rivera), spouting his own steady stream of one-liners as he bustles behind his evil overlord.

"Epicene menace" is an epithet for the ages, but what does it mean? For the menace half of the phrase, we can just remember the Dennis variety, so let's take a closer look at epicene, which refers to someone displaying qualities of both genders.

The word comes from the Greek epikoinos meaning "common to many," and later the Latin epicoenus, meaning "of both genders." It's an old conceit that a male villain is made evil through the assumption of supposedly feminine attributes such as cunning, charm, capriciousness, and even arched eyebrows and feline grace. Here, with Jafar, you see all these characteristics at play. Hence: epicene.

But not necessarily bad. If this villain does nothing else redeemable in the course of this story, you can at least thank him for helping you remember a fun, off-the-beaten-path word.

Photograph by Cylla von Tiedemann, © Broadway.com

WORD FAMILY

epicene: epicenes

USAGE EXAMPLES

She flips the script when a Democratic woman is running, portraying her as a steely battle-ax squaring off with a needy, epicene male.

Salon(May 02, 2016)

They are feminized in the process, their youth becomes epicene and their boredom reads as sensual lassitude.

Washington Post(Apr 15, 2016)

Mr. Lewis is again Malvolio, but a strutting, epicene version, rather than the earnest, humorless striver he gave us before.

New York Times(Mar 29, 2015)

1adj having an ambiguous sexual identity

Syn

bisexual
androgynous

having both male and female characteristics

2adj having unsuitable feminine qualities

Syn

cissy, effeminate, emasculate, sissified, sissy, sissyish
unmanful, unmanlike, unmanly

not possessing qualities befitting a man

3n one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made

Syn|Hyper

androgyne, epicene person, gynandromorph, hermaphrodite, intersex

bisexual, bisexual person

a person who is sexually attracted to both sexes

单词	epicene
释义	epicene (once / 59997 pages) adjn To be epicene is to be androgynous, or projecting characteristics of both sexes. For both men and women, it is a melding of the two into an ambiguous sexual identity. The roots of epicene derive from the Greek epikoinos meant "common to many," and later the Latin epicoenus, meaning "of both genders." Both lay the groundwork for the word, which refers to displaying characteristics of both genders. T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Along the garden-wall the bees/With hairy bellies pass between/The staminate and pistillate/Blest office of the epicene," referring in this poem to the shared sexual characteristics in a single flower as epicene — an apt example of the word. VOCABULARY SHOUT-OUT "Aladdin" Jafar Styled for Broadway as "Epicene Menace" If you're looking for vocabulary-rich writing, read reviews. Perhaps because a reviewer's job is to describe what we haven't yet seen (or read or heard or played), the best reviewers reach for words that are highly specific and evocative, and then string them together in ways that are amusing in their own right. Writing about Disney's new Broadway adaptation of Aladdin, New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood used the deliciously sibilant epicene when he described Jonathan Freeman's Jafar as an "epicene menace." Unsurprisingly, and after perhaps a few too many trips around the bazaar, this bunch triumphs over the machinations of the nasty Jafar, played with epicene menace and great lashings of eyeliner by Jonathan Freeman (reprising his role from the movie), whose animal sidekick has also been transformed into a human one, a mini-meanie called Iago (Don Darryl Rivera), spouting his own steady stream of one-liners as he bustles behind his evil overlord. "Epicene menace" is an epithet for the ages, but what does it mean? For the menace half of the phrase, we can just remember the Dennis variety, so let's take a closer look at epicene, which refers to someone displaying qualities of both genders. The word comes from the Greek epikoinos meaning "common to many," and later the Latin epicoenus, meaning "of both genders." It's an old conceit that a male villain is made evil through the assumption of supposedly feminine attributes such as cunning, charm, capriciousness, and even arched eyebrows and feline grace. Here, with Jafar, you see all these characteristics at play. Hence: epicene. But not necessarily bad. If this villain does nothing else redeemable in the course of this story, you can at least thank him for helping you remember a fun, off-the-beaten-path word. Photograph by Cylla von Tiedemann, © Broadway.com WORD FAMILY epicene: epicenes USAGE EXAMPLES She flips the script when a Democratic woman is running, portraying her as a steely battle-ax squaring off with a needy, epicene male. Salon(May 02, 2016) They are feminized in the process, their youth becomes epicene and their boredom reads as sensual lassitude. Washington Post(Apr 15, 2016) Mr. Lewis is again Malvolio, but a strutting, epicene version, rather than the earnest, humorless striver he gave us before. New York Times(Mar 29, 2015) 1adj having an ambiguous sexual identity Syn bisexual androgynous having both male and female characteristics 2adj having unsuitable feminine qualities Syn cissy, effeminate, emasculate, sissified, sissy, sissyish unmanful, unmanlike, unmanly not possessing qualities befitting a man 3n one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made Syn\|Hyper androgyne, epicene person, gynandromorph, hermaphrodite, intersex bisexual, bisexual person a person who is sexually attracted to both sexes
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