伴随着性别语言问题的兴起，汉语词语如何表达性别概念的问题日益引起关注。国内对汉语性别词语的研究主要集中在分布研究、特征研究和使用研究，多从共时层面的某一类型的性别词语角度进行探索，且分类相对模糊。但是，性别词语研究少有从历时角度在古今汉语沟通的大背景下作相对全面的历史演变分析，对于最重要的原型性别词部分的研究也少有关注其历史演变特征和规律。
原型性别词语的历史演变规律主要表现在以下方面：在组合能力方面，原型性别词“牝、牡”随时代发展而减弱，“男、女、雄、雌、公、母”则增强；在组合对象上，原型性别词存在大致分工，“男、女”多搭配人类，“雄、雌”可以与动植物名词组合，“公、母、牝、牡”多与禽兽牲畜组合；在意义倾向上，原型性别词以雄性意义为正统，使得雌性义原型性别词具有更强的组合能力和语用上的贬义感情色彩；原型性别词语的内部发展存在不平衡性，主要表现在使用频率和使用功能方面。
原型性别词语在历史演变中表现出对称与不对称的特征。对称性表现在原型性别词的产生与消亡、词义表达与发展、组合功能等方面；不对称主要表现为在组合中存在空位现象。对称与不对称呈现相互转化的关系，受到语言规律和社会环境的制约。

With the rise of gender language， the problem of how to express the concept of gender in Chinese words has attracted more and more attention. Domestic research on Chinese gender words mainly focuses on distribution， feature and use， and is mostly explored from a certain type of gender words in the synchronic level， and the classification is relatively vague. However， few studies on gender words have made a relatively comprehensive analysis of their historical evolution in the context of ancient and modern Chinese communication from a diachronic perspective， and few studies on the archetypal gender words have focused on their historical evolution characteristics and rules.
The historical evolution of archetypal gender words is mainly reflected in the following aspects: In terms of combinational ability， the archetypal gender words "Pin and Mu" weakened with the development of The Times， while " Nan ， Nv ， Xiong ， Ci ， Gong ， Mu" increased; In terms of combination objects， there is a general division of labor of archetypal gender words. "Nan and Nv" are mostly combined with human beings， "Xiong and Ci" can be combined with animal and plant nouns， and " Gong ， Mu ， Pin ， Mu " are mostly combined with animals. In terms of meaning tendency， the archetypal gender words are orthodox in male meaning， which makes the female archetypal gender words have stronger combination ability and pragmatic pejorative emotional color. The internal development of archetypal gendered words is unbalanced， which is mainly manifested in the use frequency and use function.
Archetypal gender words show the characteristics of symmetry and asymmetry in the historical evolution. Symmetry of archetypal gender words is manifested in the emergence and extinction， the expression and development of meaning， and the function of combination. Asymmetry is mainly manifested as vacancy in combination. Symmetry and asymmetry show mutual transformation relationship， which is restricted by language law and social environment.