epicene

card 1 of 6 · context meaning

In this passage about grammar, which meaning best fits 'epicene'?

Epicene nouns are equally misunderstood: they are of one gender only. These, like the common, represent under one word each member of a pair of animals—the male and the female: thus passer—a sparrow—denotes the cock sparrow, as well as the hen: but in the use of these words there is no variation of the gender.