1. \Eu"nuch\, n. [L. eunuchus, Gr. ?, prop., keeping or
   guarding the couch; ? couch, bed, + ? to have, hold, keep.]
   A male of the human species castrated; commonly, one of a
   class of such persons, in Oriental countries, having charge
   of the women's apartments. Some of them, in former times,
   gained high official rank.
   

2. \Eu"nuch\, Eunuchate \Eu"nuch*ate\, v. t. [L. eunuchare.]
   To make a eunuch of; to castrate. as a man. --Creech. Sir. T.
   Browne.
   

literally bed-keeper or chamberlain, and not necessarily in all cases one who was mutilated, although the practice of employing such mutilated persons in Oriental courts was common (2 Kings 9:32; Esther 2:3). The law of Moses excluded them from the congregation (Deut. 23:1). They were common also among the Greeks and Romans. It is said that even to-day there are some in Rome who are employed in singing soprano in the Sistine Chapel. Three classes of eunuchs are mentioned in Matt. 19:12.