castration n.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut."

It forms all or part of: caret; cashier (v.) "dismiss;" cassation; caste; castellan; castellated; Castile; castle; castigate; castrate; castration; chaste; chastity; chateau; chatelaine; Chester; forecastle; incest; quash (v.) "make void, annul."

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit sastra- "knife, dagger;" Greek keazein "to split;" Latin carere "to be cut off from," cassus "empty, void;" Old Church Slavonic kosa "scythe."

"to deprive of the testicles, emasculate," 1610s (implied in castrated), back-formation from castration (q.v.), or from Latin castratus, past participle of castrare "to castrate, emasculate; to prune," supposedly from a noun *castrum "knife, instrument that cuts" (from PIE root *kes- "to cut"). The figurative sense "destroy the strength or vitality of" is attested earlier (1550s). Related: Castrating.

"male person emasculated during childhood to prevent the change of voice at puberty, artificial male soprano," 1763, from Italian castrato, from Latin castratus (see castration). "The voice of such a person, after arriving at adult age, combines the high range and sweetness of the female with the power of the male voice" [Century Dictionary].