castrat

Forms

castrat m (plural castrats)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian castrato, borrowed in 1749 in speaking of Italian singers.^[2][3][4] The Italian word is the past participle of castrare (“to castrate”), used as an adjective in veterinary medicine from the end of the 13th century and as a noun for a singer from the first half of the 17th century.^[2][3] The Italian verb is from Latin castrō (“to castrate”),^[1][5] the source of the inherited French châtrer.^[3][5] Bloch and Wartburg date the borrowing to about 1760, and the GLLF to Diderot about the same time.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is in 1749, in Charles de Brosses' Lettres familières sur l'Italie, where the best voices he heard were those of castrats such as Senesino.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In French the word belongs to the context of Italian music: a singer castrated as a boy so that he kept a soprano voice.^[3][2] Rey explains that women were not allowed to sing in church, so castrati were admitted to the chapels in the 16th century and had great success in opera, especially in the 18th century; after Pope Clement XIV banned castration (1769–1774), they gradually left the stage.^[3]

It is also used more generally for any castrated male, a eunuch,^[2][8][9] and, rarely, figuratively.^[2]

Timeline

• End of the 13th century – Italian castrato is used as an adjective in veterinary medicine.^[2][3]
• 1556 – Castrat is recorded as a Gascon word for a castrated sheep.^[10][3]
• First half of the 17th century – Italian castrato is used for a singer.^[2]
• 1749 – De Brosses uses castrat of Italian singers.^[2][7]
• c. 1760 – Diderot uses the word.^[6][7]
• 1769–1774 – Clement XIV bans castration, and the castrati gradually leave the stage.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A male who has been castrated, a eunuch.^[8][9][11]
2. A castrato, a singer castrated in boyhood to keep a soprano or alto voice: une voix de castrat.^[8][11][5]

Related words

• châtrer
• castrer
• castration
• eunuque
• Italian castrato
• Latin castrō

Usage notes

As early as 1556 Huguet records castrat as a Gascon word, as in mouton castrat “wether”; it comes from Old Occitan castrat (14th century).^[10][3][2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)