unisex

unisex

English

WOTD – 25 July 2021

Etymology

A sign for a unisex restroom (sense 1) in the United States.

From uni- (prefix meaning ‘one, single’) +‎ sex.[1]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈjuːnɪsɛks/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈjunəˌsɛks/
• Hyphenation: uni‧sex

Adjective

unisex (not comparable)

1. Not distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; suitable for any sex or gender. [from 1960s]

   Kim is a unisex name.

   Synonyms: epicene, genderless, gender-neutral, nongendered, omnigender, synoecious, ungendered, unisexual

   Antonym: gendered

2. (dated) Of or pertaining to only one sex or gender; unisexual. [from 1910s]

Related terms

• unisexual
• unisexuality
• unisexualize
• unisexually

Translations

not distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; suitable for any sex or gender

Catalan: unisex (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 男女不分的 (nánnǚ bùfēn de), 男女兩用的／男女两用的 (nánnǚ liǎng yòng de) Dutch: uniseks (nl), geslachtloos (nl) Finnish: unisex (fi), molemmille sukupuolille sopiva, sukupuolineutraali (fi) French: unisexe (fr), épicène (fr), unigenre (fr) Georgian: ერთსქესიანი (ertskesiani) German: unisex (de), geschlechtsneutral (de) Hebrew: יוניסקס‎ (yúniseks) Hungarian: uniszex Italian: unisex (it), bisex, epiceno (it), monosessuale Japanese: ユニセックス (yunisekkusu), 男女兼用 (だんじょけんよう, danjo ken'yō), 男女両用 (だんじょりょうよう, danjo ryōyō) Korean: 유니섹스 (yunisekseu) Portuguese: unissex (pt), unissexo, epiceno (pt) Romanian: unisex Russian: юнисе́кс (juniséks), унисе́кс (ru) (uniséks) (indeclinable, of clothes, etc.), го́дный для лиц обоего пола́ (gódnyj dlja lic obojevo polá), неразличимый по полу (nerazličimyj po polu) Spanish: unisex (es), epiceno (es) Swedish: unisex (sv), könsneutral (sv) Turkish: üniseks Ukrainian: юнісекс (juniseks), унісекс (uniseks) Welsh: neillrywiol, neillryw

of or pertaining to only one sex or gender — see unisexual

See also

• non-binary
• intersex

Noun

unisex (uncountable)

1. The state of not being distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; the state of being suitable for any sex or gender. [from 1960s]

Translations

state of not being distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; state of being suitable for any sex or gender

Japanese: ユニセックス (yunisekkusu) Welsh: neillrywiaeth f

References

1. “unisex, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “unisex, adj. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• unisex on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Unixes

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Catalan

Adjective

unisex (indeclinable)

1. unisex

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Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English unisex. By surface analysis, uni- +‎ sex.

Adjective

unisex (invariable)

1. unisex

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Romanian

Etymology

From French unisexe.

Adjective

unisex m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. unisex

Declension

Declension of unisex (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	unisex		unisex	unisex	unisex
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	unisex		unisex	unisex	unisex
	definite	—		—	—	—

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌuniˈseɡs/ [ˌu.niˈseɣ̞s]
• Rhymes: -eɡs
• Syllabification: u‧ni‧sex

Adjective

unisex (invariable)

1. unisex

Further reading

• “unisex”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014