eunuch

[ yoo-nuhk ]

/ ˈyu nək /

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noun

a castrated man, especially one formerly employed by rulers in the Middle East and Asia as a harem guard or palace official.

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Origin of eunuch

1350–1400; Middle English eunuk<Latin eunūchus<Greek eunoûchos eunuch, chamberlain, equivalent to eune-, stem of eunḗ bed, place of sleeping + -ochos keeping (akin to échein to hold

Words nearby eunuch

eumetazoan, eumung, Eumycota, Eunice, Eunomia, eunuch, eunuchism, eunuchize, eunuchoid, eunuchoidism, euonymus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eunuch in a sentence

In The Female Eunuch, one of feminism’s cornerstone texts, Germaine Greer wrote in 1970 that “women have very little idea of how much men hate them.”
A feminist internet would be better for everyone|Emily Luong|April 1, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Or how kicking a reaction-less eunuch in the crotch over and over again is comedy.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Christianity arrived in Sudan, about 125 miles northeast of Khartoum, with the eunuch minister of Queen Candice in 35 AD.
In Sudan a Pregnant Woman May Be Hanged for Marrying a Christian|Nina Shea|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with a free-testosterone level akin to an octogenarian eunuch.
Reconsidering the War on Steroids|Jonathan Miller|September 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer This was the first feminist book I ever read.
Isabel Allende’s Book Bag: 5 Books That Influenced Me|Isabel Allende|April 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Even compared with his personage in Casino Royale, the 007 of Quantum is basically a grunting eunuch.
Has Bond Lost His Balls?|Matthew Oshinsky|November 3, 2008|DAILY BEAST
There were eunuchs too, black frock-coated—and the chief eunuch, an important personage who ranks very high.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
Iftikhar went on, and with only the eunuch and Mary Kurkuas, the emir advanced within the palace.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
Then at last the eunuch spoke, his imperturbable smile swelling to a fulsome grin.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
Enough; the good eunuch Hakem thought me a true welee, and brought out one of his cagelings to see my magic.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
The body of the eunuch dropped from her arms, lay upon the rugs, the blood spurting from the neck.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for eunuch

eunuch

/ (ˈjuːnək) /

noun

a man who has been castrated, esp (formerly) for some office such as a guard in a harem

informal an ineffective mana political eunuch

Word Origin for eunuch

C15: via Latin from Greek eunoukhos attendant of the bedchamber, from eunē bed + ekhein to have, keep

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