Names for castrated animals (2025)

Hi all,
as my questions on castrated/non castrated domestic animal males/bucks (by separate sorts) wasn't succesfull - e.g. in this thread:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=972735 I created new thread... (sorry).
I wander, which of castrates (if any at all) has in Your respective language its name? If doesn't have such name, please refer about it too. Thank You in advance!

In

:
Common name in Latin / name of (male) castrate in Czech
Sus scrofa f. domestica / vepř
Bos taurus / vůl
Ovis aries / skopec
Capra hircus / hňup
Equus caballus / valach / female castrate: kobyla
Equus asinus asinus / probably no name (?)
Felis silvestris f. catus / felix (obsolete)
Canis lupus f. familiaris / castration not used as I know
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / kapoun (name used for G. gallus too - that more often)
Camelus sp. / no name in Czech
Elephas maximus / no name in Czech
Homo sapiens sapiens / eunuch (this is not animal ) (?)
...

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / kapoun (name used for O. cuniculus too - that less often)
Meleagris gallopavo / probably no name, maybe also kapoun?
Anser anser / no name in Czech as I know
...

In Portuguese, I can only think of boi "ox" for castrated bull (and eunuco "eunuch" for a castrated man). However, in everyday use boi frequently applies to non-castrated oxen as well. The distinction in practice becomes more between oxen that are kept for consumption, and bulls that are kept for breeding.

P.S. Most people (me included) will not be familiar with the meaning of those scientific terms. It would be nice if you included English translations for them.

Here are a few more in English:

Animal / Male Non-castrated / Male castrated

Cows / Bull / Steer
Chickens / Rooster / Capon
Sheep / Ram / Wether

Outsider wrote:

P.S. Most people (me included) will not be familiar with the meaning of those scientific terms. It would be nice if you included English translations for them.

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Common name in Latin / Common name in English (as English has a lot of meanings with these words, this may be problematic and/or with mistakes - as I'm not expert in this)
Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig
Bos taurus / Cattle (Cows)
Ovis aries / Domestic sheep
Capra hircus / Domestic goat
Equus caballus / Domestic horse
Equus asinus asinus / Donkey
Felis silvestris f. catus / Domestic cat
Canis lupus f. familiaris / Domestic dog
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / Domestic rabbit
Camelus sp. / Camel
Elephas maximus / Elephant
Homo sapiens sapiens / wise human
...

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / Chicken
Meleagris gallopavo / Domestic turkey
Anser anser / Domestic goose

for German (where you should keep in mind that I may be referring to Austrian German use specifically in some cases):
Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig: as posted already on the other thread, for me there's none (I do not know personally the name 'Borg' mentioned there)
Bos taurus / Cattle (Cows): Ochse
Ovis aries / Domestic sheep: I think a term exists, but I don't know it
Capra hircus / Domestic goat: same as with sheep
Equus caballus / Domestic horse: Wallach
Equus asinus asinus / Donkey: none
Felis silvestris f. catus / Domestic cat: none
Canis lupus f. familiaris / Domestic dog: none
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / Domestic rabbit: none
Camelus sp. / Camel: none
Elephas maximus / Elephant: none
Homo sapiens sapiens / wise human: Kastrat (or more common, sometimes specifically referring to the Osman Empire but also used otherwise) Eunuch
...

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / Chicken: none
Meleagris gallopavo / Domestic turkey: none
Anser anser / Domestic goose: none

In cases where I've written 'none' to my knowledge there does not exist a specific term, one would just refer to the castrates as 'castrated XY' (castrated dog, etc.).

And please kindly change the thread title as you want to include humans.

kusurija said:

Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / kapoun (name used for G. gallus too - that more often)

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In Portuguese there is the word capão for a castrated rooster (a normal rooster is called a galo). According to a dictionary I consulted, it can also refer to a castrated horse. This word is seldom used, though. I don't recall ever hearing it in reference to horses.

Here are the ones I know in French, although many will be missing.Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig: cochon, porc
Bos taurus / Cattle (Cows): boeuf
Ovis aries / Domestic sheep: mouton
Capra hircus / Domestic goat: Not sure... bouc châtré, bouc castré (i.e. no specific word)?
Equus caballus / Domestic horse: hongre
Equus asinus asinus / Donkey:
Felis silvestris f. catus / Domestic cat: chat castré (i.e. no specific word)
Canis lupus f. familiaris / Domestic dog: chien castré, chien coupé ("cut dog"! On second thought, I think "chat coupé" is also used for cats)
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / Domestic rabbit: do they do that to rabbits?
Camelus sp. / Camel:
Elephas maximus / Elephant:
Homo sapiens sapiens / wise human: castrat, eunuque (after all, from a strictly zoological point of view, humans are animals...)
...

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / Chicken: chapon
Meleagris gallopavo / Domestic turkey:
Anser anser / Domestic goose: About humans, animals, and cruelty. French has two verbs, "castrer" and "châtrer". They have the same etymology but "castrer" is closer to the Latin form. "Châtrer" always has a crude and literal meaning. "Castrer" probably hurts as much but it sounds less brutal because it is found in scientific contexts, so people tend to use it more often in reference to domestic animals... See above Capra hircus vs Canis lupus or Felix silvestris.

Hi,

Outsider said:

This word is seldom used, though.

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Isn't that a city folk's point of view? Just guessing here .
Anyway, from my city boy's dictionary: Dutch

[Latin, English, male - castrated version]

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / Chicken: haan - kapoen*/Engels haantje (lit. English cock, or should I say English rooster?)
Meleagris gallopavo / Domestic turkey: ??
Anser anser / Domestic goose: ganzerik, gent, gander - ??
Note:
The words marked with an * are often used in connection to people. E.g. 'oen' is used for 'idiot', 'kluns' for somebody who's very unhandy, etc.

Groetjes,

Frank

Nanon said:

Canis lupus f. familiaris / Domestic dog: chien castré, chien coupé ("cut dog"! On second thought, I think "chat coupé" is also used for cats)

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There's a false friend with German here: a 'chien coupé' ('cut dog') would be in German 'kupierter Hund' - but this does not mean a castrate but a dog who has cut his tail (or sometimes his ears too, I think - I am no expert on these strange 'cuttings') which is done because some races 'should look just like this'.

And another addition on German which came to my mind when reading Frank06's post on dutch:
Ovis aries / Domestic sheep: ram - hamel* - in German for castrate = Hammel
But the Dutch words of goat do not remind me of any German word for a castrate male goat.

Frank06 said:

Isn't that a city folk's point of view? Just guessing here

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Possibly, but I have family in the countryside, and spent a lot of time there in my youth, yet I don't remember hearing those words. There may be regional variations in their use or lack thereof, though.

Same as for me with camels and elephants. If they would have been common in the French countryside I might have heard the words
I know some more names for non-castrated animals but not for their castrated counterparts.

To Sokol: "chien à queue coupée" (with his tail cut: boxers, etc...) can be related to "kupierter Hund" in German, so the friend is not that false after all...

In

:
Common name in Latin / name of (male) castrate in English
Sus scrofa f. domestica / barrow
Bos taurus / ox (castrated as adult), steer (US), bullock (UK)
Ovis aries / wether
Capra hircus / wether
Equus caballus / gelding
Equus asinus asinus / gelding(?)
Felis silvestris f. catus / gib, neuter (male), spay (female), fixed, altered (US)
Canis lupus f. familiaris / neuter (male), spay (female), fixed, altered (US)
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / lapin
Camelus sp. / English word unknown
Elephas maximus / neutered elephant?
Homo sapiens sapiens / eunuch (man), unfortunate (both men and women). No specific English word for a "spayed" women exists.

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / capon
Meleagris gallopavo / No specific English name
Anser anser / flipper

More on neutering animals here.

More Finnish terms:

sheep: oinas
cattle: härkä (I think this is sometimes used for the non-castrated animal as well)
chicken: kapuuni / salvukukko (the second word is from salva- “castrate” + kukko “rooster”)
human: kuohilas (based on the verb kuohia “castrate”)

Icelandic:

horses, cattle, possibly other animals: geldingur
sheep: sauður
cattle: uxi

Gavril said:

More Finnish terms:

sheep: oinas (This is correct, but very rarely used)
cattle: härkä (I think this is sometimes used for the non-castrated animal as well) (In eastern dialects it is used for the non-castrated animals as well)
chicken: kapuuni / salvukukko (the second word is from salva- “castrate” + kukko “rooster”) (Also salvokukko)
human: kuohilas (based on the verb kuohia “castrate”)

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In Turkish, we do not have special names for castrated animals.

We say literally:

castrated horse, castrated dog, and so on.

snoopymanatee said:

In Turkish, we do not have special names for castrated animals.

We say literally:

castrated horse, castrated dog, and so on.

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Actually, there is one animal for which we make the distinction. The male of a cow is boğa if it is fertile; öküz if castrated.

Frank06 said:

Felis silvestris f. catus / Domestic cat: kater - gecastreerde kater

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You forgot about the je-weet-wel-kater (you-know-what-male-cat). Or is this not known outside of the Netherlands?

apmoy70 said:

In Greek:
...
Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig: «Μουνούχος» (mu'nuxos, m.) a derivation of the Classical noun «εὐνοῦχος» (enuch).
Capra hircus / Domestic goat: «Μουνούχος» (mu'nuxos, m.) a derivation of the Classical noun «εὐνοῦχος» (enuch).
...

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(Addendum) Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig: In Ancient Greek the castrated pig was called «κάδυρος» kắdŭrŏs (masc.) of unknown etymoloɡy.
Capra hircus / Domestic goat: Besides «μουνούχος» (which is probably Byzantine), the castrated billy-goat is «ίξαλος» [ˈik͡s̠alos̠] (masc.) < Classical masc. noun «ἴξαλος» íksălŏs or «ἴσχαλος» ískʰălŏs and «ἴσκλος» ísklŏs; the variation -sk-/-skʰ- suɡɡests a Pre-Greek root *iktʲal- with a palatalised tʲ as second consonant.

Catalan

A bou is a bull (Bos taurus) but it is also an ox in those areas where 'brau' and 'toro' are used for the non-castrated one.
A moltó or marranís is a castrated male sheep.
A crestat or crestó is a castrated male goat.

A

Polish

Sus scrofa f. domestica / maciora or locha
Bos taurus / wół , byk
cattle = bydło
Ovis aries / baran , skop
Capra hircus / koza domowa
Equus caballus / wałach / fem. klacz
Equus asinus asinus / (?)
Felis silvestris f. catus /
Canis lupus f. familiaris / (?)
Oryctolagus cuniculus f. Domesticus / (?)
Camelus sp. /
Elephas maximus /
Homo sapiens sapiens / eunuch

Gallus gallus f. domestica / kapłon
Meleagris gallopavo / indor

Frank06 said:

[Latin, English, male - castrated version]
Sus scrofa f. domestica / Domestic pig:
Bos taurus / Cattle (Cows):
Ovis aries / Domestic sheep:
Equus caballus / Domestic horse:

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Frank06 said:

Domestic birds:
Gallus gallus f. domestica / Chicken:

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Swedish:

Pig: There are two words, galt and orne, but both can mean either a male castrated or non-castrated pig, the words were used differently in different parts of Sweden

Cattle: Oxe - if older than 3 years / stut - if younger than 3 years (still in use)
Sheep: Hammel (never heard of)
Horse: Valack (still in use)
Chicken: Kapun (only seen in old cookbooks)

Sami language, but used in Swedish too (still in use):
Ren / Reindeer (Rangifer tarangus):
Male/Female/Castrated male
Sarv/Vaja/Härk

Are Santa's reindeer sarv or härk?