The Epicene Nouns (I Nomi Epiceni)

Epicene nouns are nouns that have only one form to indicate either sex.

There are two kinds:

1. I nomi di genere comune (Common gender nouns)
2. I nomi di genere promiscuo (Promiscuous gender nouns).

Common gender nouns —> what indicates whether their gender is either masculine or feminine is the article / adjective used to refer to them in the sentence.

To this group belong:

• Some nouns ending in the singular form in -e
• Some nouns ending in the singular form in -a
• Certain present participles used as a noun
• Nouns ending in the singular form in -ista, -cida, -iatra, -arca

Examples

• (il / la) consorte / (the) spouse
• (il / la) parente /(the) relative
• (il / la) collega / (the) colleague
• (l’ / la) insegnante / (the) teacher
• (il / la) cantante / (the) singer
• (l’ / la) amante / (the) lover
• (il / la) giornalista / (the) journalist
• (l’ / la) artista / (the) artist
• (il / la) fratricida / (the) fratricide
• (il / la) fisiatra / (the) physiatrist
• (il / la) monarca / (the) monarch

Promiscuous gender nouns not only have the same form for both genders but are also preceded by the same article (either masculine or feminine).

To this group belong:

• Some nouns referring to animals
• Some nouns referring to people

Some promiscuous gender nouns referring to animals are:

• (il) leopardo / (the) leopard
• (la) zebra / (the) zebra
• (l’) usignolo / (the) nightingale
• (il) delfino / (the) dolphin
• l(’) aquila / (the) eagle
• (il) colibrì / (the) hummingbird

In this case, to specify the gender of an animal from the list above, you usually accompany the noun with the adjectives maschio (male) or femmina (female), or the equivalent expression il maschio del / della | la femmina del / della (the male of / the female of)

Examples

• Il peso medio del leopardo femmina è intorno ai 37 chili / The average weight of a female leopard is about 37 kilos

• Il maschio dell’usignolo nutre la femmina durante la cova / Male nightingales feed the female during incubation

Some promiscuous gender nouns referring to people are:

• (la) persona / (the) person
• (il) medico / (the) doctor
• (il) testimone / (the) witness
• (la) vittima / (the) victim

Examples

• Anna è una brava persona / Anna is a good person
• Giovanni è una brava persona / Giovanni is a good person
• Anna fa il medico / Anna is a doctor
• Giovanni fa il medico / Giovanni is a doctor
• Anna è la vittima, qui / Anna is the victim, here
• Giovanni è la vittima, qui / Giovanni is the victim, here