castrate
[kas-treyt]
- to remove the testes of; emasculate; geld.
- to remove the ovaries of.
- Psychology. to render impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, especially by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity.
- to deprive of strength, power, or efficiency; weaken: Without those ten new submarines, our navy will be castrated.
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- a castrated person or animal.
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Origin of castrate
1605–15; < Latin castrātus past participle of castrāre to geld, equivalent to castr- geld + -ātus -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for castration
Contemporary Examples
Then, Quast brings up Joni Ernst, and takes out a knife to, I guess, remind voters about her castration skills.
Hurst sought to get the castration bill passed during the last legislative session but failed.
Fringe Factor: South Carolina Mayor Won’t Apologize for Anti-Gay RantCaitlin Dickson
October 20, 2013
Robert Chesal on how Joep Dohmen uncovered the Dutch castration scandal.
Historical Examples
The third method, that of experiment, is available to us only in the form of castration.
The Sexual Life of the ChildAlbert Moll
In Hyderabad, castration used to be performed at about the age of sixteen.
Castes and Tribes of Southern IndiaEdgar Thurston
It must render intelligible the effects of castration on animals.
The Making of SpeciesDouglas Dewar
The well-known effects of castration illustrate this connection.
The Making of SpeciesDouglas Dewar
When children learn about ritual circumcision they identify it with castration.
Totem and TabooSigmund Freud
castrate
- to remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld
- to deprive of vigour, masculinity, etc
- to remove the ovaries of; spay
- to expurgate or censor (a book, play, etc)
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin castrāre to emasculate, geld
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for castration
n.
early 15c., castracioun, from Latin castrationem (nominative castratio), noun of action from past participle stem of castrare "to castrate, emasculate," supposedly from a noun *castrum "knife, instrument that cuts," from PIE root *kes- "to cut" (see caste). Freud's castration complex is attested from 1914 in English (translating German Kastrationsangst).
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castrate
v.
1610s (implied in castrated), back-formation from castration (q.v.), or from Latin castratus, past participle of castrare. The figurative sense is attested earlier (1550s). Related: Castrating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
castration
(kă-strā′shən)- Removal of the testicles or ovaries; sterilization.
- A psychological disorder that is manifested in the female as the fantasized loss of the penis or in the male as fear of its actual loss.
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castrate
(kăs′trāt′)- To remove the testicles of a male; emasculate.
- To remove the ovaries of a female; spay.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.