word: eunuch (British Dictionary definitions for eunuch)

British Dictionary definitions for eunuch

eunuch   /ˈjuːnək/

noun

1.

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

2.

(informal) an ineffective man: a political eunuch

Word Origin

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
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Word Origin and History for eunuch

n.

late 14c., from Middle French eunuque and directly from Latin eunuchus, from Greek eunoukhos “castrated man,” originally “guard of the bedchamber or harem,” from euno-, comb. form of eune “bed,” of unknown origin, + -okhos, from stem of ekhein “to have, hold” (see scheme (n.)).

The Greek and Latin forms of the word were used to translate Hebrew saris, which sometimes meant merely “palace official,” in Septuagint and Vulgate, probably without an intended comment on the qualities of bureaucrats.

Eunuches is he þat is i-gilded, and suche were somtyme i-made wardeynes of ladyes in Egipt. [John of Trevisa, translation of Higdon’s Polychronicon, 1387]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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