berdache

English

Etymology

From French bardache, from Italian bardassa, perhaps from Arabic بَرْدَج‎ (bardaj, “slave”). Compare bardash.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /bəˈdaʃ/
(US) IPA^(key): /bəɹˈdæʃ/

Noun

berdache (plural berdaches or berdache)

(anthropology, dated, now offensive) Among Native Americans, a person who identifies with any of a variety of gender identities which are not exclusively those of their biological sex; a transgender person. [from 19th c.]
- 2005, Michael J Horswell, Decolonizing the Sodomite, University of Texas 2006, page 20:
  Male berdache have been documented in nearly 150 North American societies, while female berdache (females who take on the lifeways of males) appear in half as many groups.

Usage notes

Considered offensive by many Native American communities because of its pejorative and non-American etymology, berdache began to fall out of use in the 1990s; two-spirit and various tribe-specific terms (wergern, etc) are now used instead.

Derived terms

berdachism

Translations

Native American who identifies with a gender identity not exclusively corresponding to their biological sex — See also translations at two-spirit

Portuguese: berdache m or f

Russian: берда́ш (ru) m (berdáš), берда́че m or f (berdáče)

Anagrams

breached

French

Noun

berdache m (plural berdaches)

Alternative form of bardache

Portuguese

Noun

berdache m, f (plural berdaches)

two-spirit (native American who is transgender or belongs to a third gender)