eunuch
Syllables: eu·nuch/ˈjuː.nək/
eunuch noun: a castrated man.
Noun
eunuch (plural eunuchs)
- 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.1922, Michael Arlen, “2/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
- Such 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 Concubinesc. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC... - I, and by heauen, one that will doe the deede, / Though Argus were her Eunuch and her garde.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- He ſhall be made a chaſte and luſtleſſe Eunuch,
- A man who is not inclined to marry and procreate.
- One 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.1976 December 11, Ronnie Allen, “No Political Eunuch”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 4
- behold the Eunuch of castrated thought2002, Sarah Kane, 4.48 Psychosis, Methuen, →ISBN, page 40
Verb
eunuch (third-person singular simple present eunuchs, present participle eunuching, simple past and past participle eunuched)
- To castrate.
- To render ineffectual.
eunuch meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu
eunuch in Hindi
- castrated man
- हिजड़ा hijṛā
- such a man who was harem guard or in Middle Eastern courts under Roman Emperors, important officials of the state
- हिजड़ा hijṛā
eunuch in Tamil
- அண்ணகர், அலி, திருநங்கை, ஆண்மையிழந்தவர், விதையிழந்தவர்
eunuch in Urdu
- eunuch
- خوجہ xoja, زنخا zanxā, خواجہ xāja
- eunuch; hijra
- خواجہ سرا xvāja sarā
eunuch in Telugu
- a eunuch, an impotent man
- షండుడు ṣaṇḍuḍu
- eunuch or attendant of women's apartments
- వర్షధరుడు varṣadharuḍu, వర్షవరుడు varṣavaruḍu
- eunuch
- అక్షతుడు akṣatuḍu
More languagesFewer languages
- eunuch in Malayalam
- ഷണ്ഡൻ ṣaṇḍaṉ
- eunuch in Kannada
- ನಪುಂಸಕ napuṃsaka
- eunuch in Punjabi
- ਹਿਜੜਾ hijṛā, ਨਪੁੰਸਕ napunsak
- eunuch in Gujarati
- ખસી khasī, ખોજો khojo, નપુંસક napũsak
- eunuch in Odia
- ହିଜଡ଼ hijaṛa
- eunuch in Sanskrit
- अक्षत akṣata
- eunuch in Tagalog
- bating, eunuko
- eunuch in Arabic
- خَصِيّ ḵaṣiyy, مَخْصِيّ maḵṣiyy
- eunuch in Malay
- sida-sida
- eunuch in Persian
- خواجه xwâje
- eunuch in Thai
- ชันที, ขันที kǎn-tii
Examples of eunuch in a sentence
- Now there was in Shakespeare's time a pipe called the eunuch flute.
- Out of the blue, the chief eunuch of the zenana appears.
- Eunuchs were chiefly employed in the harems of the king, and his satraps.
Synonyms of eunuch
Forms of eunuch
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | eunuchs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | eunuchs |
| present participle | eunuching |
| past participle | eunuched |
| past | eunuched |
Origin of 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.
Words formed from eunuch
Phrases with eunuch
Questions about eunuch
- What does eunuch mean?
- Eunuch means a castrated man.
- What is eunuch in Hindi?
- Eunuch in Hindi is हिजड़ा (hijṛā). See Eunuch meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is eunuch?
- Eunuch can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce eunuch?
- Eunuch is pronounced /ˈjuː.nək/.
- What is the plural of eunuch?
- The plural of eunuch is eunuchs.
Words near eunuch in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: eunuch (page history and authors); eunuch (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); خواجہ (Urdu) (page history and authors); అక్షతుడు (Telugu) (page history and authors); ഷണ്ഡൻ (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ನಪುಂಸಕ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਨਪੁੰਸਕ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ખસી (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ହିଜଡ଼ (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-eunuch.wav.
Cite this entry: “eunuch.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/eunuch. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.