androgenous, androgynous

The words androgenous, androgynous sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do androgenous, androgynous sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: androgenous, androgynous are homophones of the English language.

androgenous
  1. :: adjective

    Biology Having both female and male characteristics; hermaphroditic.

  2. :: adjective

    Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior.

androgynous
  1. :: adjective

    Biology Having both female and male characteristics; hermaphroditic.

  2. :: adjective

    Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").