English
castrato
Castrato comes from Latin castrō ‘to castrate’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastrō‘to castrate’
- Italianc. 1300–presentcastrato
- Englishearliest quotation 2001same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastrō‘to castrate’
- Italianc. 1300–presentcastrato
- Englishearliest quotation 2001same form
Earliest quotation: 2001, Bernardine Evaristo, The Emperor's Babe: “A castrato stepped forward, a slender / young man…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- ‘to cut, hew’
through Proto-Italic *kaidō ‘to cut, hew, fell’
through Latin caedō ‘to cut’
decision, precise, cement, concise, circumcision, incision, chisel, scissor, incisive, excision, incisor, caesium, 26 more
Today it means
noun A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin castrō / castrato