Two-spirit

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /tuːˈspɪɹɪt/, /ˈtuːˌspɪɹɪt/

A calque of Ojibwe niizh manidoowag ("two spirits"), from niizh ("two") + manidoo ("spirit").

Jodi O'Brien, Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, volume 1 (2009, ISBN 1412909163)

Replaced berdache, which had come to be considered offensive.

Full definition of two-spirit

Adjective

1. (of a Native American) Identifying as transgender, or as any of various tribal third genders, rather than as cismale or cisfemale.
• 1996, Ritch C Savin-Williams & Kenneth M Cohen, The Lives of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals: Children to Adults, p. 421:A Hupa two-spirit male told me: ‘I was real feminine as a child, from as early as I can remember.’
• 1997, Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas & Sabine Lang, Two-spirit People, p. 4:With this etymology, it should come as no surprise that many Native American gay, lesbian, transgender, and other two-spirit people consider the term ‘berdache’ derogatory.
• 2010, Walter L Williams, The Guardian, 11 Oct 2010:Instead of seeing two-spirit persons as transsexuals who try to make themselves into "the opposite sex", it is more accurate to understand them as individuals who take on a gender status that is different from both men and women.

Synonyms

• two-spirited

Noun

1. A Native (North) American who is not cismale or cisfemale, but is transgender or belongs to belongs to any of various tribal third genders.
• 2009, James Neill, The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies, p. 38:Because of their spiritual powers, sex with a two-spirit was often considered to bring good luck.

Synonyms

• berdache now often considered offensive

From two + spirit.

Adjective

1. (theology) Involving two spirits; especially, pertaining to the doctrine of dualism espoused in the so-called Treatise on the Two Spirits in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• 1957, The Harvard Divinity School bulletin (Harvard University Press), page 133:Paul's grasp of the Spirit as the sign of the erupting messianic age is at odds with the two-spirit thought of Qumran which never became incompatible with law observance.