English
hemigynous
Hemigynous comes from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi ‘half’, and goes back to *sem- ‘one’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-1‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sēmi2‘half’reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1851hemigynous3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *sēmi
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἡμι-
- 3 Wiktionary, English hemigynous
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Edward Newman, On the Word Hermaphrodite: “Since the above was written, I find that the…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *sēmi‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sēmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἡμι-‘half’reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1851hemigynousWiktionary, English hemigynous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Edward Newman, On the Word Hermaphrodite: “Since the above was written, I find that the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’
some, same, single, simple, simply, similar, seem, soft, sam, simulation, sincerely, singular, resemble, assemble, resemblance, simulate, sincerity, anomaly, simultaneous, semblance, assimilate, homeopathic, insincere, synapse, homology, anomalous, hyphen, simile, simulacrum, homolog, synchronise, sempre, 45 more
Today it means
adj Having characteristics of both male and female of the species but the sexual organs for one gender only.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “hemigynous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *sēmi, Ancient Greek ἡμι-. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sem- / hemigynous