eunuch
nounverbattested in dialogue
- //ˈjuː.nək//
A castrated man.
noun
- 1
A castrated man.
Semiramis was the first woman to invent eunuchs and women have had sympathy for them ever since; […] and women can tell them what they can't tell other men.
- 2
historicalSuch a man employed as harem guard or in certain (mainly Eastern) monarchies (e.g. late Roman and Chinese Empires) as court or state officials.
He ſhall be made a chaſte and luſtleſſe Eunuch, And in my Sarell tend my Concubines
I, and by heauen, one that will doe the deede, / Though Argus were her Eunuch and her garde.
Hence sawcy Eunuch peace, / she hath betraid me, / And shall dye the death.
[describing a bas-relief] An eunuch holds a fly-flapper or fan over the head of the king, who appears to be conversing or performing some ceremony with a figure standing in front of him; probably his vizir or minister.
- 3
A man who is not inclined to marry and procreate.
- 4
figurativeOne that is ineffectual.
Mr. Peterson really reaches for a low one when he says, "They (gays) should never commit themselves to any broader ideological movement." I am, paradoxically, a Christian, a Maxist, a Gay, and a Human Being. To be gay one should not be a political eunuch.
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek εὐνή (eunḗ) Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-der. Proto-Hellenic *hékʰō Ancient Greek ἔχω (ékhō) Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti Proto-Hellenic *wékʰō Ancient Greek ϝέχω (wékhō)? Ancient Greek -οῦχος (-oûkhos) Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos)bor. Latin eunūchusder. Middle English eunuk English eunuch From Middle English eunuk, from Middle French eunuque, from Latin eunūchus, from Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos), from εὐνή (eunḗ, “bed”) + ἔχω (ékhō, “to have, keep”). Originally probably used to refer to a bed chamber attendant.
verb
- 1
datedTo castrate.
- 2
datedTo render ineffectual.
Forms
- plural
- eunuchs
- past tense
- eunuched
- past participle
- eunuched
- present participle
- eunuching
- third person singular
- eunuchs