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Help[Facts] The correct word
Hello everybody. I'm reading a book about French onomastics I found in a used books market. It's titled "Un prénom pour toujours" ("A first name forever") and it was written in the 1980s. It defines those we are used to call unisex names as "androgynous". I guessed this word is used only in academic environments, whereas on the Web and in common language we all use unisex. Is this assumption of mine right? Or has "unisex" completely replaced "androgynous"? Thanks to those who will answer.
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. ~Marie Curie
My name list: behindthename.com/pnl/223545
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. ~Marie Curie
My name list: behindthename.com/pnl/223545
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Replies
For the most part, I've seen "androgynous" used to describe physical appearance.
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"androgynous" has an 80ies ring to it, When David Bowie was young and became a superstar, he was often described as "androgynous". The word fell out of fashion since. It has also different connotation: While unisex sounds technical and neutral, androgynous also transports notions like "between the classical genders" (may gender-fluid in today's language) and "flamboyant". Ah, this is all about English, French is sometimes special in its terminology that is decreed by the French Academy and enforced by law.
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Thank you, now I understand better.
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