neuter

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English neutre, from Latin neuter, from ne (“not”) + uter (“whether”), a semantic loan from Koine Greek οὐδέτερος (oudéteros); compare English whether and neither.

adj

1. (now uncommon) Neutral; on neither side; neither one thing nor another.
   This is certain, that in all our Undertakings God will be either our Friend or our Enemy. For Providence never stands neuter […] 1672, Robert South, “A Sermon Preach’d at Westminster-Abbey, on the Twenty Ninth of May, 1672. Being the Anniversary Festival appointed by Act of Parliament, for the Happy Restoration of King Charles II”, in Twelve Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions, 6th edition, volume 5, London: Jonah Bowyer, published 1727, page 271
   A relay race that does not match teams but integrates the fastest and the slowest in one race against the most neuter of all adversaries — time. 1973, Nancy Frazier, Myra Sadker, Sexism in school and society
2. (grammar) Having a form which is not masculine nor feminine; or having a form which is not of common gender.
   a neuter noun
   the neuter definite article
   a neuter termination
   the neuter gender
3. (grammar) Intransitive.
   a neuter verb
4. (biology) Sexless: having no or imperfectly developed sex organs.
5. (literary) Sexless, nonsexual.
   Rich girls stayed home and got married and then "put out" occasionally, but only as their wifely duty. Prior to the sexual revolution in the 1960s southern belles were the most neuter members of the human race[.] 2000, Jan Hutson, The Chicken Ranch: The True Story of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, page 30

noun

1. (biology) 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; especially, 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.
2. A person who takes no part in a contest; someone remaining neutral.
   But if you should beecome eyther a counterfayt Protestant, or a perverse Papist, or a colde and carelesse newter (which God forbid) the harme could not be expressed which you should do to your native Cuntrie. 1571, Arthur Golding, “Epistle Dedicatorie”, in The Psalmes of David and others. With M. John Calvins Commentaries
3. (grammar) The neuter gender.
4. (grammar) A noun of the neuter gender; any one of those words which have the terminations usually found in neuter words.
5. (grammar) An intransitive verb or state-of-being verb.
   Make one do, or act (to), fare fare, fare agire, with an accusative when the verb is a neuter, and with a dative when otherwise. 1820, M. Santagnello, A Dictionary of the Peculiarities of the Italian Language, G. and W. B. Whittaker, page 185
   Compound verbs other than those already spoken of whereby neuters are made active, are very rare, as I have already hinted under the head of nouns. 1847, Brian Houghton Hodgson, Essay the First; On the Kocch, Bódo and Dhimál Tribes, in Three Parts, J. Thomas, page 119
   In all the Apachean languages, verbs are divided into two major categories, neuters and actives, each of which may be further divided into intransitives, transitives, and passives. 1971, Harry Hoijer, “Athapaskan Morphology”, in Jesse O. Sawyer, editor, Studies in American Indian Languages, University of California Press, published 1973, page 130

verb

1. To remove sex organs from an animal to prevent it from having offspring; to castrate or spay, particularly as applied to domestic animals.
2. To rid of sexuality.
   The neutering extends to Believe’s guest stars, with warm-and-fuzzy verses from Ludacris (“I love everything about you / You’re imperfectly perfect”), Big Sean (“I don’t know if this makes sense, but you’re my hallelujah”), Nicki Minaj (who at least squeaks a “bitches” into her verse), and especially Drake, whose desire to hug and kiss the object of his affection on “Right Here” is reminiscent of The Red Hot Chili Peppers on Krusty’s Comeback Special. June 26, 2012, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The Onion AV Club
3. To drastically reduce the effectiveness of something.
   Congress neutered the bill by adding an exception for big corporations.
   Here wrangling, bitty conflicts neutered change. 1974, John Boorman, Zardoz, London: Pan Books, page 51