Revised as of
16 Nov 2022
WARNING: One of the Word Confusion images below is a graphic example of a eunuch.
I actually haven’t run across this as a Word Confusion, but I did like the juxtaposition of the words and the sense of time I had from them. A eunuch is a person most commonly read of from the past, from history, whereas Unix is definitely a contemporary machine code.
It could be fun, though, to imagine a Unix guarding a harem door. If any of the women can program a back door into the software, they’d be able to escape! On a more contemporary note, I know I’ve felt like a eunuch often enough when faced with a computer problem.
These days we call a politician who is coming to the end of his or her tenure, especially one whose successor has already been elected, a lame duck. I guess calling a senator or congressman a eunuch is less dignified. Then there are the famous castrati, young boys who castrate themselves to sing those high notes. Technically, they’re eunuchs too.
I must confess all this talk of castration has me thinking back to an anecdote of my ex-husband’s when he was buying a capon at the grocery store, and the cashier asked him what it was. His reply? A castrated cock, dear.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Eunuchs | Unix |
|---|---|
A Eunuch of Qing Dynasty” is courtesy of the authors, K. Chimin Wong and Wu Lien-teh. The photo is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — History of Chinese Medicine: Being a Chronicle of Medical Happenings in China from Ancient Times to the Present Period, Second edition, Shanghai: National Quarantine Service, 1936, plate XIX after p. 202. Original caption: “A young eunuch undressed to show site of castration, taken in Peking 1901.” |
Unix-ed-shellscript is a screenshot by No machine-readable author provided. Unbugged~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Singular: eunuch |
Noun
Plural: Unix |
| A man who has been castrated, especially (in the past) and employed to guard the women’s living areas at an oriental court
An ineffectual person A man or boy deprived of the testes or external genitals One who lacks virility or power A boy who has been castrated to preserve a high pitched voice into adulthood (usually referred to as castrati) |
[Trademark; computing] AS widely used multiuser operating system |
| Examples: | |
| The sultan’s harem was guarded by fearsome eunuchs.
They were a nation of political eunuchs. Undescended testicles are not the same as a eunuch. The last empress of China was carried in a litter by eunuchs. “Alessandro Moreschi is the only castrato whose voice has ever been recorded” (Pemberton). |
Adopt 10 good habits that improve your UNIX(R) command line.
Use Unix commands in Windows’ built-in command prompt. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: eunuchoid Noun: eunuchoidism |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| The first known use was in the 15th century.
Old English, via Latin from the Greek eunoukhos, it literally means bedroom guard, from eunē (bed) + a second element related to ekhein (to hold). |
1970s, from uni- (one) + a respelling of -ics, on the pattern of an earlier less compact system called Multics. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Eunuchs versus Unix
Apple Dictionary.com
Pemberton, Marilyn. “Castrati: Did the end justify the means? Historia. 17 Jan 2020. Web. 16 Nov 2022. <https://www.historiamag.com/castrati-end-justify-means/>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
My own work.
