Category:Eunuch

Eu"nuch, n. Etym: [L. eunuchus, Gr.

Defn: A male of the human species mutilated or born with such a condition; commonly, one of a class of such persons, in Oriental countries, having charge of the women's apartments. Some of them, in former times, gained high official rank.

eunuch; eunuchate Eu"nuch, Eu"nuch*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. eunuchare.]

Defn: To make a eunuch of; to mutilate or castrate, as a man. Creech. Sir. T. Browne.

--- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Eunuch - Literally bed-keeper or chamberlain, and not necessarily in all cases one who was mutilated, although the practice of employing such mutilated persons in Oriental courts was common (2 Kings 9:32; Esther 2:3). The law of Moses excluded them from the congregation (Deuteronomy 23:1). They were common also among the Greeks and Romans. It is said that even to-day there are some in Rome who are employed in singing soprano in the Sistine Chapel. Three classes of eunuchs are mentioned in Matthew 19:12.