Gender

The English noun gender is derived from the Old French word genre, meaning "kind of thing". It goes back to the Latin word genus (meaning "kind", "species"). It has several meanings in modern usage:

• Gender is most commonly used as a synonym for sex, though it is not the same as sex (see below), referring to males and females classified according to genetic differences and distinct primary and secondary sex characteristics.

• In certain language grammars, e.g. French and Latin, nouns and pronouns have a gender. See grammatical gender.

• Social scientists use gender to refer to a particular social identity, status, and cluster of roles, that are often (but not exclusively) determined on the basis of sex. See gender identity, gender role, queer studies, list of transgender-related topics.

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

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

• The Gender is a creek in The Netherlands. See Gender (creek).