DCHP-1 Online
berdash berdache, burdash [< MF bardache < Ital. dial. bardascia < Arab. bardaj slave < Pers. bardah] 
1 n. among Indians, a homosexual; sodomite; transvestite.
- 1674 (1890-1901) [I know not through what superstition some Illinois . . . while still young, assume the garb of women and retain it throughout their lives. There is some mystery in this, for they never marry and glory in demaning themselves to do everything that women do.]
- 1806 (1897) [The Mandans] have many berdashes among them, who make it their business to satisfy such beastly passions.
- 1955 . . . the English word "berdache," or "berdash" . . . was first used, as far as we can discern . . . by early French travellers and explorers, who used it to designate passive homosexuals or, more specifically, those individuals who played a passive role in sodomy.
2 n. an emasculated buffalo, highly prized for the fine robe made from its skin and its choice meat.
- 1858 (1860) [Buffalo emasculated by wolves are often found in the prairies, where they grow to an immense size; the skin of the buffalo ox is recognized by the shortness of the wool and by its large dimensions.]
- 1957 But perhaps the most notable poem in the volume [Canadian Poems by Charles Mail] is "The Last Bison." One day, while lying on the bank of the Saskatchewan River, the author is privileged to hear a burdash, or hermaphrodite bison, burst into song.
- 1674 (1890-1901) [I know not through what superstition some Illinois . . . while still young, assume the garb of women and retain it throughout their lives. There is some mystery in this, for they never marry and glory in demaning themselves to do everything that women do.]