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eunuch

The definition of a eunuch is a castrated man.

(noun)

An example of a eunuch is a prisoner of war during the Shang Dynasty.

See eunuch in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a castrated man in charge of a harem or employed as a chamberlain or high officer in the court of an emperor or potentate
any man or boy lacking normal function of the testes, as through castration or disease

Origin: ME eunuk < L eunuchus < Gr eunouchos, guardian of the bed, chamberlain, eunuch < eunē, bed + echein, to have, hold: see scheme

See eunuch in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A castrated man employed as a harem attendant or as a functionary in certain Asian courts.
A man or boy whose testes are nonfunctioning or have been removed.
Informal An ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine man.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English eunuk

Origin: , from Latin eunūchus

Origin: , from Greek eunoukhos

Origin: : eunē, bed

Origin: + -okhos, keeping (from ekhein, to keep; see segh- in Indo-European roots)

Related Forms:

euˈnuch·ism noun

Word History: The word eunuch does not derive, as one might think, from the operation that produced a eunuch but rather from one of his functions. Eunuch goes back to the Greek word eunoukhos, “a castrated person employed to take charge of the women of a harem and act as chamberlain.” The Greek word is derived from eunē, “bed,” and ekhein, “to keep.” A eunuch, of course, was ideally suited to guard the bedchamber of women.

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