Gen"der (j&ebreve;n"d&etilde;r), n. [OF. genre, gendre (with excrescent d.), F. genre, fr. L. genus, generis, birth, descent, race, kind, gender, fr. the root of genere, gignere, to beget, in pass., to be born, akin to E. kin. See Kin, and cf. Generate, Genre, Gentle, Genus.]

1. Kind; sort. [Obs.] "One gender of herbs." Shak.

2. Sex, male or female. [Obs. or Colloq.]

3. (Gram.) A classification of nouns, primarily according to sex; and secondarily according to some fancied or imputed quality associated with sex.

Gender is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only. Sex is natural distinction and applies to living objects.

&fist; Adjectives and pronouns are said to vary in gender when the form is varied according to the gender of the words to which they refer.

Gen"der (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gendered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gendering.] [OF. gendrer, fr. L. generare. See Gender, n.] To beget; to engender.

Gen"der, v. i. To copulate; to breed. [R.] Shak.

• (Grammar): A division of nouns and pronouns (and sometimes of other parts of speech), such as masculine, feminine, neuter or common.
  
• A division between classes or kinds. E.g., the common gender.
  
• The collection of behavioural characteristics associated with one's sex; condition of being masculine, feminine or androgynous.
  
• (euphemistically, or to avoid confusion with sex in the sense of sexual relations) Sex (male or female).
  
• to engender