Other forms: castrated, castrating, castrates
To castrate is to remove the male reproductive organs. Castrate the animal, castrated bulls, castration.
In farming it is routine and produces steers, geldings and capons, all of which have their own names — the castrated animal is different enough in behaviour and meat to need one. Historically it was done to human singers to preserve a boy's voice, which produced the castrati of Italian opera. Figuratively it means to deprive of force. Note that the Latin also means to prune.
1verbcastrateTo remove the male reproductive organs.
“The farmer castrated the young bulls so that they would be calmer.”
2verbdepriveTo deprive something of force.
“Critics said the committee had castrated the new law, leaving it with no real power.”
castrate is a surgical removal.
Latin castrare means to prune or castrate, of uncertain earlier origin. The pruning sense and the surgical one are the same word, both about cutting back.
Latin
castrātus
Middle English
castrat — (adjective) castrated; (noun) a castrated animal
English, today
castrate
Built from
Likely from an unattested sense of Middle English castrat (“(adjective) castrated; (noun) a castrated animal”), substantivized borrowing of Latin castrātus, perfect passive participle of castrō (“to prune, amputate, castrate”), see -ate).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA