Gender Both¶
Summary¶
A word is classified as “both gender” if it contains both a masculine and a feminine form, or if a single form is masculine in some contexts and feminine in other contexts.
Article¶
Some words appear in both a masculine and a feminine form. Other words have only one form, but that single form can be either grammatically-masculine or grammatically-feminine. These kinds of words are classified as “gender both”, and they are usually nouns or adjectives. Sometimes the context can determine the gender of a particular instance of a “gender both” noun, but sometimes the context is inconclusive.
Examples¶
A single word with both masculine and feminine forms¶
In the following example, the noun אוֹר (light) is masculine in form and takes grammatically-masculine verbs (יְהִ֣י and וַֽיְהִי).
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י אֹ֑ור וַֽיְהִי־אֹֽור׃ |
| wayyomer ‘elohim yehi ‘owr wayehi-‘owr |
| And-he-said God there-will-be light and-there-was_light. |
| God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. |
In the following example, the noun אוֹרָה (light) is feminine in form and takes a grammatically-feminine verb (הָֽיְתָ֥ה).
| לַיְּהוּדִ֕ים הָֽיְתָ֥ה אֹורָ֖ה |
| layyehudim hayethah ‘owrah |
| To-the-Jews there-was light |
| The Jews had light |
A single form that can be either masculine or feminine¶
In the following example, the noun שֶׁמֶשׁ (sun) is grammatically feminine.
| וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בָּ֔אָה |
| wayhi hashemesh ba’ah |
| And-it-happened the-sun it-went |
| When the sun had gone down |
In the following example, the noun שֶׁמֶשׁ (sun) is grammatically masculine.
| הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ יָצָ֣א עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ |
| hashemesh yatsa ‘al-ha’arets |
| The-sun it-went-out over_the-earth |
| The sun had risen upon the earth |
In the following example, the noun נֹגַהּ (brightness) could be either masculine or feminine.
| וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים אָסְפ֥וּ נָגְהָֽם |
| And-stars they-withdraw their-brightness |
| the stars keep back their brightness |