ETYM Latin eunuchus, Greek, prop., keeping or guarding the couch; eune couch, bed, + echein to have, hold, keep.
Castrated man. Originally eunuchs were bedchamber attendants in harems in the East, but as they were usually castrated to keep them from taking too great an interest in their charges, the term became applied more generally. In China, eunuchs were employed within the imperial harem from some 4,000 years ago and by medieval times wielded considerable political power. Eunuchs often filled high offices of state in India and Persia.
Italian castrati were singers castrated as boys to preserve their soprano voices, a practice that ended with the accession of Pope Leo XIII 1878.
A man who has been castrated and is incapable of reproduction; SYN. castrate.