What does hermaphroditic mean?

Definitions for hermaphroditic
-ˈdɪt ɪkher·maph·ro·dit·ic

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hermaphroditic.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. hermaphroditicadjective

    of or relating to monoclinous plants

  2. hermaphroditic, hermaphroditeadjective

    of animal or plant; having both male female reproductive organs

Wiktionary

  1. hermaphroditicadjective

    Of or pertaining to hermaphrodism; being a hermaphrodite.

  2. hermaphroditicadjective

    Possessing the reproductive organs of both genders.

Wikipedia

  1. hermaphroditic

    In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which either partner can act as the female or male. For example, the great majority of tunicates, pulmonate molluscs, opisthobranch, earthworms, and slugs are hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is also found in some fish species and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates. Most plants are also hermaphrodites. Animal species having different sexes, male and female, are called gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphrodite.There are also species where hermaphrodites exist alongside males (called androdioecy) or alongside females (called gynodioecy), or all three exist in the same species (called trioecy); these three systems are sometimes called mixed breeding systems. In plants there are cases where male flowers and hermaphrodite flowers occur on the same plant (andromonoecy) or female flowers and hermaphrodite flowers on the same plant (gynomonoecy).The term hermaphrodite is commonly used for abnormal cases of dioecious animal species but according to geneticist Michael Majerus this definition should be distinguished from the scientific definition.In recent years the term hermaphrodite applied to humans has fallen out of favor since there have been no identified cases of a human reproducing as both male and female, with some biologists saying hermaphroditism does not occur in humans. Intersex activists have preferred the word intersex, since the word hermaphrodite is considered to be stigmatizing, as well as "scientifically specious and clinically problematic."There are no hermaphroditic species among mammals or birds. According to David B. Rivers there is controversy around hermaphroditism in insects with some experts believing it does not occur. Hermaphroditism is said to occur in one or two insect species.A rough estimate of the number of hermaphroditic animal species is 65,000. The percentage of animal species that are hermaphroditic is about 5% in all animal species, or 33% excluding insects. (Although the current estimated total number of animal species is about 7.7 million, the study, which estimated the number, 65,000, used an estimated total number of animal species, 1,211,577 from "Classification phylogénétique du vivant (Vol. 2)" - Lecointre and Le Guyader (2001)). Most hermaphroditic species exhibit some degree of self-fertilization. The distribution of self-fertilization rates among animals is similar to that of plants, suggesting that similar pressures are operating to direct the evolution of selfing in animals and plants.

ChatGPT

  1. hermaphroditic

    Hermaphroditic refers to an organism, typically a plant or animal, that possesses both male and female reproductive organs. In many species, these individuals can produce both sperm and eggs, allowing for self-fertilization or reproduction with other individuals. This term comes from the fields of biology and zoology but can also be used metaphorically in other contexts.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Hermaphroditicadjective

    alt. of Hermaphroditical

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of hermaphroditic in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of hermaphroditic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for hermaphroditic

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • hermaphroditischGerman
  • ερμαφρόδιτοςGreek
  • hermafroditaEsperanto
  • hermaphrodite, androgyneFrench
  • hermafrodytycznyPolish
  • jihärmafroditanik, hihärmafroditanik, härmafroditik, härmafroditanikVolapük

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"hermaphroditic." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/hermaphroditic>.

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