among grammarians, a division of nouns, or names, to distinguish the two sexes.

This was the original intention of gender: but afterwards other words, which had no proper relation either to one sex or the other, had genders assigned them, rather out of caprice than reason; which is at length established by custom. Hence genders vary according to the languages, or even according to the words introduced from one language into another. Thus, arbor in Latin is feminine, but arbre in French is masculine; and dens in Latin is masculine, but dent in French is feminine.

The oriental languages frequently neglect the use of genders, and the Persian language has none at all.

The Latins, Greeks, &c. generally content themselves to express the different genders by different terminations; as bonus equus, "a good horse;" bona equa, "a good mare," &c. But in English we frequently go further, and express the difference of sex by different words: as boar, sow; boy, girl; buck, doe; bull, cow; cock, hen; dog, bitch, &c.—We have only about 24 feminines, distinguished from the males, by the variation of the termination of the male into ess; of which number are abbot, abbess; count, countess; actor, actress; heir, heiress; prince, princess, &c., which is all that our language knows of any thing like genders.

The Greek and Latin, besides the masculine and feminine, have the neuter, common, and the doubtful gender; and likewise the epicene, or promiscuous, which under one single gender and termination includes both the kinds.

GENEALOGY, an enumeration of a series of ancestors; or a summary account of the relations and alliances of a person or family, both in the direct and collateral line.

The word is Greek, γενεαλογία; which is formed of γένος, "race or lineage," and λόγος, "discourse."

In divers chapters and military orders, it is required, that the candidates produce their genealogy, to show that they are noble by so many descents.