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# gender

noun (a gender, genders; also uncountable)

«gender» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Gender is being a boy or a girl, a man or a woman, especially the roles and ideas people and societies connect with that; some people feel they are both, neither, or not the gender they were thought to be at birth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#m1)
2. (grammar) In languages like French, German and Spanish, gender is the group a noun belongs to, such as masculine or feminine, which changes words like «the» and «a». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#m2)
3. On forms, gender is a box asking whether you are male, female or something else. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#m3)

### In the lessons

In PSHE and relationships lessons, gender comes up when talking about fairness and stereotypes: any gender can like football, dancing, science or cooking. People and countries hold different views about gender identity; lessons ask pupils to be kind and respectful to everyone. In French lessons, «le» is masculine and «la» feminine; grammatical gender often has nothing to do with real boys and girls (a table is feminine in French). In English, gender shows in «he, she, his, her». Phrases: «gender stereotypes», «gender equality», «gender pay gap», «masculine/feminine gender».

### Examples

- Any gender can be a scientist or a nurse. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x1)
- Our class talked about gender stereotypes in toy adverts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x2)
- In French, every noun has a gender: «le livre», «la table». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x3)
- The form asked for my name, age and gender. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x4)
- Gender equality means girls and boys get the same chances. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x5)
- In German there are three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x6)
- Some people say gender and sex mean the same; others use gender for roles and identity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x7)
- \[239\] Kruchina, as an abstract idea, is of the feminine gender. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/#x8)

### Note

Countable when naming kinds (two genders in French), uncountable for the idea. Trap: grammatical gender (le/la) is about words, not about living things. People disagree about how to use the word «gender»; schools teach respect for others either way. «Sex» is the biological word.

## In Jewish tradition

Here "gender" is old English meaning to breed or mate, so the verse forbids crossbreeding different kinds of animals.

**Interpretation.** Tradition counts this as one of the "chukim," laws about keeping kinds separate, along with not mixing seeds or wool and linen.

### Examples

- Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed; neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together. (Torah LEV.19.19, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/gender/#x1)
- And the hoar-frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? (Writings JOB.38.29, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/gender/#x2)

### Note

Countable when naming kinds (two genders in French), uncountable for the idea. Trap: grammatical gender (le/la) is about words, not about living things. People disagree about how to use the word «gender»; schools teach respect for others either way. «Sex» is the biological word.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «gender» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gender/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«gender» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/gender.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «gender» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/gender/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«gender» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/gender.html) on Mova free.