castrato
UK[kæˈstrɑːtəʊ]US[kæˈstrɑːtoʊ]
n
a male singer who was castrated in boyhood so that he would retain a soprano or alto voice.
Morpheme Breakdown
castr
ato
castr
to cut
ato
past participle suffix
Etymology
the word 'castrato' is a direct borrowing from italian, where it functions as the past participle of the verb 'castrare', meaning 'to castrate'. its latin root, 'castrare', carries the core meaning of cutting or pruning, which in a biological context referred to the removal of the testicles. this procedure, performed on pre-pubescent boys, prevented the vocal cords from lengthening and thickening during puberty, thereby preserving the high vocal range. the term thus logically evolved from its literal meaning of 'a castrated one' to its specific historical and musical meaning denoting a singer who underwent this process for artistic purposes.
Analysis
Structure: castr (to cut) + ato (past participle suffix)
castr originates from latin 'castrare', meaning 'to cut, to prune, to castrate'. ato is an italian past participle suffix, indicating a state or condition resulting from an action.
Examples
the castrato was a celebrated figure in baroque opera.
farinelli was perhaps the most famous castrato in history.
the practice of creating castrati for musical performance is now obsolete.