| 释义 |
neu·ter
I. \ˈn(y)üd.ə(r), -ütə-\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English neutre, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French neutre, from Latin neuter, literally, neither, from ne- (negative prefix) + uter which of two — more at no, whether
1.
a. : belonging to, connected with, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring characteristically to things that are neither masculine nor feminine
< a neuter noun >
< the neuter gender >
< a neuter ending >
b. : neither active nor passive : intransitive; also : restricted to mere existence or state — used of verbs and verb forms
2. : taking no side : free from marked bias or partiality : neutral
3. : belonging to neither of two usually opposed classes
4.
a. : having no generative organs : sexless
b. : having imperfectly developed or nonfunctional generative organs either permanently or seasonally
< the worker bee is neuter >
• neu·ter·ly adverb
• neu·ter·ness noun -es
II. noun
(-s)
1.
a. : a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the neuter gender
b. : the neuter gender
2.
a. : one that is neutral
b. usually capitalized : neutral 1b
3.
a. : an imperfectly developed female of various social insects (as ants and honeybees) that performs labors of the community : worker
b. : a spayed or castrated animal (as a cat)
III. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
: castrate, alter |