castrato

< /kæˈstrɑ ti, kə-; Italian kɑˈstrɑ ti/.

1. a male singer, especially in the 18th century, castrated before puberty to prevent his soprano or contralto voice range from changing.

noun plural -ti (-tɪ) or -tos

1. (in 17th- and 18th-century opera) a male singer whose testicles were removed before puberty, allowing the retention of a soprano or alto voice

n.

1763, from Italian castrato, from Latin castratus (see castration).