castrato
Meanings
noun
- A male who has been castrated, especially a male whose testicles have been removed before puberty in order to retain his boyish voice.
- A male soprano or alto voice produced by castration of the treble singer before puberty, intended to conserve his voice; the singer.
adj
- Castrated; especially castrated prepubescently.
- Having, using or containing the voice of a castrato (noun).
- Originally composed for a castrato.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Italian castrato, from Latin castrō (“to castrate”), likely from caedō (“to cut”).
Related words
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