castratos

Noun

castrato (plural castratos or castrati)

1. A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice.
   • A castrato stepped forward, a slender / young man with earnest grey eyes.2001, Bernardine Evaristo, The Emperor's Babe, Penguin Essentials (2020), page 170
2. A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the treble singer before puberty, intended to conserve his voice; the singer.
   • As contexts shift, so does generational taste. Just ask the castrati – the high-voiced boy singers displaced when Enlightenment liberalism restored female performers to the stage.2025 November 20, Van Badham, “Xania Monet’s music is the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully her AI ‘clankers’ will be limited to this cultural moment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

See all 5 meanings of castrato