Whence We Came
In Hebrew the word מין (min) signifies a number of different things; essentially it means “type” or “point of origin”. It’s also used as the preposition מ (mi) which means “from”; as in where are you from – מאיפה אתה? – and a number of other expressions indicating “from”.
What’s interesting is that gender in Hebrew is also מין because we all came from something – most probably the womb – and all of us have a type – male or female. So, in Hebrew, one’s origin is both a designation and a point of origin.
However, the Latin root for gender comes from the root for family which is “genex” and also birthes the words for genealogy (study of the family) and genitals (that whose function brings forth family). Gender implies belonging to something greater; the parents that conceived and the one that birthed you.
It isn’t so much a type cast as it is a relationship. In modern usage, gender is a mark of identification that has little to do with familial relationship. In ancient times, however, the root “genex” implies not so much whence one came and what type one is but to whom one belongs.
(”Whence”, as an aside, seems to be used only to convey an elevated sense of language by the author and it’s almost always used in a clumsy fashion. Whence implies “from where”; hence the reason for a separate word. To say, “from whence” is redundant – “from where you come from”. Although, sadly, it seems that “from whence” is an acceptable usage according to the American Heritage Dictionary – “But from whence has been used steadily by reputable writers since the 14th century, most notably in the King James Bible: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Psalms). Such a respectable precedent makes it difficult to label the construction as incorrect.” However, it also claims “The construction from whence has been criticized as redundant since the 18th century.” So unless you’re a literal author (deceased long ago) of the Bible please don’t use “from whence”.)
מין is also used to describe a type of something. For instance it can be a happy cat or a red cat or some other adjectival-noun combination. מין covers much more general ground than gender and is used accordingly. However, there have been a number of instances where I’ve tried to us מין in context as a type of something but somehow it comes out as gender and leads to a confusing and frustrating conversation.