common gender

common gender (plural common genders)

1. (grammar) A grammatical gender in some languages, formed by the historical merging of masculine and feminine genders.
   • 2011, Theo van den Hout, The Elements of Hittite, p. 16:

     There are two genders: common gender (genus commune, abbreviated: com.) and neuter (genus neutrum, abbreviated: neut.). The common gender combines the masculine and feminine of other Indo-European languages into one.

2. (grammar) In some languages (e.g. Latin, Lithuanian), a gender applied to a noun that can be either masculine or feminine.

• masculine
• feminine
• neuter