Gender

The word gender is derived from the Old French word genre, meaning "kind of thing". It has several meanings in modern usage:

• Gender as a linguistic term is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only, generally assigning them to the classes masculine, feminine or neuter. See grammatical gender.

• Gender is commonly used as a synonym for sex, refering to males and females classified according to genetic differences and distinct primary and secondary sex characteristics. This usage is considered incorrect by some.

• Social scientists use "gender" to refer to a particular social status, and cluster of roles, that are often (but not exclusively) assigned on the basis of sex. This is discussed on the article on gender roles.

• Situations sometimes arise where gender may be mimicked by inanimate objects, notably in cable connectors that have "male" and "female" counterparts. For an example in this context see gender changer.

• The gender (pronounced with a hard G) is an Indonesian musical instrument used in gamelan orchestras. See gender (music)

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