A man who has been castrated. Usually just his testicles are removed, but some men have their penis removed as well. The castration can be self-administered (often by chemical means but sometimes by cutting) or done by someone else at the man’s request. This kind of castration is usually not because the man is transsexual or wants to be a woman. It’s because he hates his testicles for any number of reasons and he feels he would be happier without them. In past centuries, slaves and choir boys were castrated and made into eunuchs. Eunuchs could rise to positions of influence or power, given how they were not seen as a threat to the king or emperor. In the later Roman Empire, the real power was thought to be in the hands of the Emperor’s Chief Eunuch. In the Byzantine era, it was not unusual for parents to have one of their sons castrated, in hopes he would rise to a trusted position and be able to offer aid to his family members. Parents today usually don’t have their sons castrated, although this doesn’t mean they haven’t thought about it.