eunuch
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English eunuk, from Middle French eunuque, from Latin eunūchus, from Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos), from εὐνή (eunḗ, “bed”) + ἔχω (ékhō, “I have, keep”). Originally probably used to refer to a bed chamber attendant.
Pronunciation
edit- enPR: yo͞oʹnək, IPA(key): /ˈjuː.nək/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Hyphenation: eu‧nuch
Noun
editeunuch (plural eunuchs)
- A castrated human male.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
- 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.
- 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.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
- He ſhall be made a chaſte and luſtleſſe Eunuch,
And in my Sarell tend my Concubines
- (in translations of ancient texts) A man who is not inclined to marry and procreate.
- (figurative) One that is ineffectual.
- 1976 December 11, Ronnie Allen, “No Political Eunuch”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 4:
- 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.
Usage notes
edit- While the most common form is a eunuch, the form an eunuch (presumably with an appropriate pronunciation) is occasionally seen.
- 1849, Austen Henry Layard, chapter III, in Nineveh and Its Remains: with an account of a visit to the Chaldean Christians of Kurdistan:
- [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.
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
editeunuch (third-person singular simple present eunuches, present participle eunuching, simple past and past participle eunuched)
- To castrate
- (figurative) To render ineffectual.
See also
editCzech
editPronunciation
editNoun
editeunuch m anim
Declension
editFurther reading
editDutch
editAlternative forms
edit- eunuuk (dated, superseded)
Etymology
editBorrowed from Latin eunūchus, from Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editeunuch m (plural eunuchen, diminutive eunuchje n)
Descendants
edit- Afrikaans: eunug
Hungarian
editEtymology
editFrom German Eunuch, from Latin eunuchus, from Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos, “castrated man, eunuch, harem guard”), from εὐνή (eunḗ, “bed”) + ἔχω (ékhō, “I have, keep”).[1]
Pronunciation
editNoun
editeunuch (plural eunuchok)
Declension
editInflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | eunuch | eunuchok |
accusative | eunuchot | eunuchokat |
dative | eunuchnak | eunuchoknak |
instrumental | eunuchhal | eunuchokkal |
causal-final | eunuchért | eunuchokért |
translative | eunuchhá | eunuchokká |
terminative | eunuchig | eunuchokig |
essive-formal | eunuchként | eunuchokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | eunuchban | eunuchokban |
superessive | eunuchon | eunuchokon |
adessive | eunuchnál | eunuchoknál |
illative | eunuchba | eunuchokba |
sublative | eunuchra | eunuchokra |
allative | eunuchhoz | eunuchokhoz |
elative | eunuchból | eunuchokból |
delative | eunuchról | eunuchokról |
ablative | eunuchtól | eunuchoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
eunuché | eunuchoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
eunuchéi | eunuchokéi |
Possessive forms of eunuch | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | eunuchom | eunuchjaim |
2nd person sing. | eunuchod | eunuchjaid |
3rd person sing. | eunuchja | eunuchjai |
1st person plural | eunuchunk | eunuchjaink |
2nd person plural | eunuchotok | eunuchjaitok |
3rd person plural | eunuchjuk | eunuchjaik |
References
edit- ^ Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN
Further reading
edit- eunuch in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- eunuch in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)
Polish
editEtymology
editLearned borrowing from Latin eunūchus.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editeunuch m pers
- castrato, eunuch (castrated human male)
- Synonyms: kastrat, rzezaniec, trzebieniec
- (historical) eunuch (such a man who was harem guard or in Middle Eastern courts under Roman Emperors, important officials of the state)
- (derogatory) impotent (person incapable of taking a particular type of action that the situation requires)
- Synonym: impotent
Declension
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editFurther reading
edit- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *seǵʰ-
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English autohyponyms
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech masculine nouns
- Czech animate nouns
- Czech masculine animate nouns
- Czech velar-stem masculine animate nouns
- Dutch terms borrowed from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ʏx
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Hungarian terms derived from German
- Hungarian terms derived from Latin
- Hungarian terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/uxː
- Rhymes:Hungarian/uxː/3 syllables
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ux
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ux/3 syllables
- Hungarian lemmas
- Hungarian nouns
- hu:People
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish terms borrowed from Latin
- Polish learned borrowings from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛwnux
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛwnux/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish personal nouns
- Polish terms with historical senses
- Polish derogatory terms
- pl:Male people
- pl:Occupations