Epicene

Q. How will you diſtinguiſh the Maſculine hic from the Epicene hic, and the Feminine hæc from the Epicene hæc? / A. That word that hath hic before it, and is onely male, is the Maſculine gender: but if it be both male and female, then it is the Epicene Gender: and ſo hæc before a female, is feminine, but hæc before a word that contains under it both ſexes, is Epicene.

Epicene nouns are equally misunderstood: they are of one gender only. These, like the common, represent under one word each member of a pair of animals—the male and the female: thus passer—a sparrow—denotes the cock sparrow, as well as the hen: but in the use of these words there is no variation of the gender: they are invariably used in one gender only: thus passer is of the masculine gender: and though used for the purpose of representing the hen-sparrow; still every adjective or participle connected with it must be used in the masculine gender: [...] In short, epicene nouns differ from the common in this only; that they do not vary their genders in accordance with nature: they invariably keep to one gender.

In many names of animals, the same word with the same gender is used for both sexes: ἡ ἁλὠπηξ the fox, male or female. These are said to be epicoene.

Ovis, therefore, is epicene, and, moreover, a true epicene, like volpes, aquila, merula, avis, panthera, corvus, and others. It is epicene, because it has just been proved to be the generic term for sheep without thought for sex, to have only one grammatical gender, feminine, and yet, as a true epicene, to be carried to its logical development, so that on a few occasions, such as we have encountered in Ovid, and in [Marcus Terentius] Varro, it is employed strictly of the male.

In Telugu some confusion has been introduced between the epicene sign of plurality 'ar-u', and the neuter 'lu.' [...] Thus the Telugu demonstrative pronoun 'vâr-u,' they (the plural of 'vâḍu,' he), corresponding to the Canarese 'avar-u,' exhibits the regular epicene plural; while 'magaḍu,' a husband (in Tamil 'magan'), takes for its plural not 'magaru,' but 'magalu;' [...]

Boating when epicene is nice, in truth, / E'en though one must allow, / The danger of giving the helm to youth / While pleasure rules the prow. / [...] / 'Tis best when Frank takes his cousin ashore, / She loves botanising, / While Sissy who's left, can handle an oar / In a manner surprising.

Five High School boys came down the road abreast. Ellis saw them coming, a row of yellow, malicious faces—epicene faces, horribly smooth and young, grinning at him with deliberate insolence.

The 1960's may well be remembered as the epicene era. Boys grew long hair and bangs; girls adopted trousers, vests and peaked caps – and with everyone wearing tight pants and boots, your guess is as good as ours whether that was a guy or a gal who just went by!