From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Neuter \Neu"ter\, a. [L., fr. ne not + uter whether; akin to E.
whether. See {No}, and {Whether}, and cf. {Neither}.]
1. Neither the one thing nor the other; on neither side;
impartial; neutral. [Archaic]
[1913 Webster]
In all our undertakings God will be either our
friend or our enemy; for Providence never stands
neuter. --South.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Gram.)
(a) Having a form belonging more especially to words which
are not appellations of males or females; expressing
or designating that which is of neither sex; as, a
neuter noun; a neuter termination; the neuter gender.
(b) Intransitive; as, a neuter verb.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Biol.) Having no generative organs, or imperfectly
developed ones; sexless. See {Neuter}, n., 3.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
neuter \neu"ter\, v. t.
To render incapable of sexual reproduction; to remove or
alter the sexual organs so as to make infertile; to alter; to
fix; to desex; -- in male animals, to {castrate}; in female
animals, to {spay}.
[PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Neuter \Neu"ter\, n.
1. A person who takes no part in a contest; one who is either
indifferent to a cause or forbears to interfere; a
neutral.
[1913 Webster]
The world's no neuter; it will wound or save.
--Young.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Gram.)
(a) A noun of the neuter gender; any one of those words
which have the terminations usually found in neuter
words.
(b) An intransitive verb.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Biol.) An organism, either vegetable or animal, which at
its maturity has no generative organs, or but imperfectly
developed ones, as a plant without stamens or pistils, as
the garden Hydrangea; esp., one of the imperfectly
developed females of certain social insects, as of the ant
and the common honeybee, which perform the labors of the
community, and are called workers.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
neuter
adj 1: of grammatical gender; "`it' is the third-person singular
neuter pronoun" [ant: {feminine}, {masculine}]
2: having no or imperfectly developed or nonfunctional sex
organs [syn: {neuter}, {sexless}]
n 1: a gender that refers chiefly (but not exclusively) to
inanimate objects (neither masculine nor feminine)
v 1: remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?" [syn: {alter},
{neuter}, {spay}, {castrate}]
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