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castrato

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word castrato

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1279 Sienese document More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin castrō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin castrō
French châtrer
Italian castrare
Italian castrato

Pronunciation

  • /kasˈtra.to/[1]

Forms

castrato (feminine castrata, masculine plural castrati, feminine plural castrate)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian castrare (“to castrate”): its past participle, used as an adjective and a noun.[2][3][4] Wiktionary takes it from Latin castrātus, the participle of castrō.[1]

The Italian verb continues the Latin one, and the same verb is French châtrer, Occitan crestar, Catalan castrar, Spanish castrar and Portuguese crastar.[2][5] Most scholars derive the Latin verb from a noun meaning “cutting tool”, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to cut”).[6][2] De Vaan compares Sanskrit शस्त्र (śástra, “knife”).[6] Forms with /e/, such as the Occitan one, may first have meant cutting off a cock's comb, cresta.[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Sienese document of 1279, where the word is used of a male animal raised for meat and deprived of its testicles.[8][2] A Florentine register of 1288 has the noun for the castrated ram and its meat.[9]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used castrato of a man, a eunuch: a 14th-century translation of the Bible renders the law excluding eunuchs from the assembly with it.[8][9][10] Old forms include Sicilian crastatu and northern castrà.[8]

From the 16th century it named the singer castrated as a boy to keep a soprano or contralto voice, who sang on the opera stage until the 18th century.[7][11][12] DELI's first record of this sense is G. B. Doni, before 1647.[9] The musical sense passed into German as Kastrat (1678), French castrat (1749) and English castrato (1763).[13]

Figurative senses followed: an effeminate or spineless man, and, in modern use, someone inhibited or held back.[14][3][11]

Timeline

  • 1279 – A Sienese document uses castrato.[8][2]
  • 1288 – A Florentine register uses the noun for a wether.[9]
  • 14th century – A Bible translation uses it for a eunuch.[9][10]
  • Before 1647 – G. B. Doni uses it for a castrated singer.[9]
  • 1678 – German Kastrat is recorded.[13]
  • 1749 – French castrat is recorded.[13]
  • 1763 – English castrato is recorded.[13]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. castrated, gelded, neutered: un cavallo castrato.[3][15][1]
  2. (figurative, dated) Effeminate, spineless, lacking character.[14][3][16]
  3. (figurative) Inhibited, held back: si sentiva castrato dalle regole dell'ufficio.[3][17][11]

Noun

  1. A castrated male animal or person; a eunuch.[14][11][8]
  2. A wether, a castrated male sheep, especially one slaughtered; its meat, mutton: spiedini di castrato.[14][15][1]
  3. (music, historical) A castrato, a male singer castrated in boyhood to keep a high voice.[14][3][17]

Word family

  • castratina
  • castratello
  • castrare
  • castrone
  • castrazione
  • Latin castrātus

Usage notes

Castrato is also the past participle of castrare.[14][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 800
  8. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  14. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  15. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  17. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
Cite this entry

“Castrato.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/castrato. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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