Eunuch

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Eunuch \Eu"nuch\, n. [L. eunuchus, Gr. ?, prop., keeping or
     guarding the couch; ? couch, bed, + ? to have, hold, keep.]
     A male of the human species castrated; commonly, one of a
     class of such persons, in Oriental countries, having charge
     of the women's apartments. Some of them, in former times,
     gained high official rank. Eunuch



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Eunuch \Eu"nuch\, Eunuchate \Eu"nuch*ate\, v. t. [L. eunuchare.]
     To make a eunuch of; to castrate. as a man. --Creech. Sir. T.
     Browne.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  eunuch
       n : a man who has been castrated and is incapable of
           reproduction; "eunuchs guarded the harem" [syn: {castrate}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Eunuch
     literally bed-keeper or chamberlain, and not necessarily in all
     cases one who was mutilated, although the practice of employing
     such mutilated persons in Oriental courts was common (2 Kings
     9:32; Esther 2:3). The law of Moses excluded them from the
     congregation (Deut. 23:1). They were common also among the
     Greeks and Romans. It is said that even to-day there are some in
     Rome who are employed in singing soprano in the Sistine Chapel.
     Three classes of eunuchs are mentioned in Matt. 19:12.