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ca·stra·to

(kă-strätō, kə-)

n. pl. ca·stra·ti (-tē) or ca·stra·tos

A male singer castrated before puberty so as to retain a soprano or alto voice.

[Italian, from Latin castrātus, past participle of castrāre, to castrate; see CASTRATE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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