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emasculate

[verb ih-mas-kyuh-leyt; adjective ih-mas-kyuh-lit, -leyt]
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verb (used with object), e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing.
  1. to castrate.
  2. to deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.
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adjective
  1. deprived of or lacking strength or vigor; effeminate.
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Origin of emasculate

1600–10; < Latin ēmasculātus (past participle of ēmasculāre), equivalent to ē- e-1 + māscul(us) male + -ātus -ate1
Related formse·mas·cu·la·tion, noune·mas·cu·la·tive, adjectivee·mas·cu·la·tor, noune·mas·cu·la·to·ry [ih-mas-kyuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ɪˈmæs kyə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveself-e·mas·cu·la·tion, nounun·e·mas·cu·lat·ed, adjectiveun·e·mas·cu·la·tive, adjectiveun·e·mas·cu·la·to·ry, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for emasculation

sterilization, mutilation, debilitation, enervation

Examples from the Web for emasculation

Historical Examples of emasculation

  • They are lost or never gained by the males after emasculation.

    Little Masterpieces of Science:

    Various

  • They talk of the emasculation of the staff as a future danger.

    Home Life in Germany

    Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick

  • Emasculation was a necessary first condition of service in her worship.

    The Satyricon, Complete

    Petronius Arbiter

  • The time required after covering depends, of course, on the age of the bud when emasculation takes place.

  • The first task in crossing grapes is to remove the anthers before the flower opens, a process known as emasculation.

British Dictionary definitions for emasculation

emasculate

verb (ɪˈmæskjʊˌleɪt) (tr)
  1. to remove the testicles of; castrate; geld
  2. to deprive of vigour, effectiveness, etc
  3. botany to remove the stamens from (a flower) to prevent self-pollination for the purposes of plant breeding
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adjective (ɪˈmæskjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt)
  1. castrated; gelded
  2. deprived of strength, effectiveness, etc
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Derived Formsemasculation, nounemasculative or emasculatory, adjectiveemasculator, noun

Word Origin for emasculate

C17: from Latin ēmasculāre, from masculus male; see masculine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for emasculation

n.

1620s, agent noun from emasculate.

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emasculate

v.

c.1600, from Latin emasculatus, past participle of emasculare "castrate," from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + masculus "male, manly" (see masculine). Originally and usually in a figurative sense. Related: Emasculated; emasculating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
emasculation in Medicine

emasculation

(ĭ-măs′kyə-lā′shən)
n.
  1. The surgical removal of the testes and penis; castration.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.