What is "hermaphrodite"

Hermaphrodite \Her*maph"ro*dite\, n. [L. hermaphroditus, Gr. ?, so called from the mythical story that Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, when bathing, became joined in one body with Salmacis, the nymph of a fountain in Caria: cf. F. hermaphrodite.] (Biol.) An individual which has the attributes of both male and female, or which unites in itself the two sexes; an animal or plant having the parts of generation of both sexes, as when a flower contains both the stamens and pistil within the same calyx, or on the same receptacle. In some cases reproduction may take place without the union of the distinct individuals. In the animal kingdom true hermaphrodites are found only among the invertebrates. See Illust. in Appendix, under Helminths.

Hermaphrodite \Her*maph"ro*dite\, a. Including, or being of, both sexes; as, an hermaphrodite animal or flower.

Hermaphrodite brig. (Naut.) See under Brig.
--Totten.

late 14c. (harmofroditus), from Latin hermaphroditus, from Greek Hermaphroditos (Latin Hermaphroditus), son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, in Ovid, was loved by the nymph Salmacis so ardently that she prayed for complete union with him and as a result they were united bodily, combining male and female characteristics. Also used figuratively in Middle English of "one who improperly occupies two offices." As a name for the condition, Middle English had hermofrodito (late 14c.), hermofrodisia (early 15c.). As an adjective, from c.1600.

a. 1 (lb en of an individual organism) Having gender-ambiguous sexual organs, typically including both types of gonads. 2 Combining two opposing qualities. n. 1 An individual or organism possessing ambiguous sexual organs, typically including both types of gonads. (from late 14th c.) 2 A person or thing possessing two opposing qualities. 3 (context nautical English) A hermaphrodite brig. 4 A farm wagon convertible to multiple purposes.

adj. of animal or plant; having both male female reproductive organs [syn: hermaphroditic]

n. one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made [syn: intersex, gynandromorph, androgyne, epicine, epicine person]

A hermaphrodite is an organism that possesses both male and female reproductive organs during its life. For human hermaphrodites, see intersexuality. It can also refer to the following:

• Hermaphroditus, a character in Greek mythology; origin of the word hermaphrodite
• The Hermaphrodite, a novel by Julia Ward Howe
• Hermaphroditic connector, gender of connectors and fasteners
• Hermaphrodite brig, a type of sailing ship
• Hermaphrodite (botany), an individual plant that has only bisexual reproductive units, or a plant population comprising plants whose flowers have both male and female parts
• Hermaphrodite caliper, a type of caliper used to measure the distance between two opposite sides of an object
• Hermaphrodite (Nadar), a series of photographs of an intersex person taken by 19th-century French photographer Nadar
• Bovine hermaphrodite, an infertile female mammal which has masculinized behavior and non-functioning ovaries
• Journal of a Sad Hermaphrodite, a book by Michael de Larrabeiti
• True hermaphrodite, a medical term for an intersex condition in which an individual is born with ovarian and testicular tissue

In 1860, French photographer Nadar (real name Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) took a series of photographs of a young intersex person, who had a male build and stature and who may have been female assigned, or self-identified as female. Possibly done on commission by Armand Trousseau, the nine photographs have been described as "probably the first medical photo-illustrations of a patient with intersex genitalia". They were originally restricted for scientific uses, and Nadar did not publish them. Further photographs of intersex subjects followed over the next several decades, although there is no evidence that the photographers knew of Nadar's work.

In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which either partner can act as the "female" or "male". For example, the great majority of tunicates, pulmonate snails, opisthobranch snails and slugs are hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is also found in some fish species and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates. Most plants are also hermaphrodites.

Historically, the term hermaphrodite has also been used to describe ambiguous genitalia and gonadal mosaicism in individuals of gonochoristic species, especially human beings. The word intersex has come into preferred usage for humans, since the word hermaphrodite is considered to be misleading and stigmatizing, as well as "scientifically specious and clinically problematic".

A rough estimate of the number of hermaphroditic animal species is 65,000. Since the estimated total number of animal species is 8.6 million, the percentage of animal species that are hermaphroditic is about .7%. Arthropods are the phylum with the largest number of species. Most hermaphroditic species exhibit some degree of self-fertilization. The distribution of self-fertilization rates among animals is similar to that of plants, suggesting that similar processes are operating to direct the evolution of selfing in animals and plants.