castrate

[kas-treyt] /ˈkæs treɪt/
verb (used with object), castrated, castrating.
1.
to remove the testes of; emasculate; geld.
2.
to remove the ovaries of.
3.
Psychology. to render impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, especially by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity.
4.
to deprive of strength, power, or efficiency; weaken:
Without those ten new submarines, our navy will be castrated.
noun
5.
a castrated person or animal.
Origin
1605-15; < Latin castrātus past participle of castrāre to geld, equivalent to castr- geld + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
castration, noun
castrator, noun
uncastrated, adjective
Examples from the web for castration
  • Chemical castration and feminization of males do not occur under natural conditions.
  • And someone started leaving chopped-up sausages on his car, a possible reference to castration.
  • To many outsiders the country seemed numb, the subject of a kind of moral castration.
  • castration would certainly ensure a full head of hair for life.
  • Amazingly, normal pre-castration levels of aggression come back.
  • It was difficult to discern whether his suggestions for chemical castration and selective breeding were tongue in cheek.
  • castration also figured in a number of religious castration cults.
  • castration necessarily eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.
  • castration is commonly performed on domestic animals not intended for breeding.
British Dictionary definitions for castration

castrate

/kæˈstreɪt/
verb (transitive)
1.
to remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld
2.
to deprive of vigour, masculinity, etc
3.
to remove the ovaries of; spay
4.
to expurgate or censor (a book, play, etc)
Derived Forms
castration, noun
castrator, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin castrāre to emasculate, geld
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).

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.

castration in Medicine

castrate cas·trate (kās'trāt')
v. cas·trat·ed, cas·trat·ing, cas·trates

  1. To remove the testicles of a male; emasculate.

  2. To remove the ovaries of a female; spay.

castration cas·tra·tion (kā-strā'shən)
n.

  1. Removal of the testicles or ovaries; sterilization.

  2. 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.