Neither active nor passive; intransitive. Used of verbs.
Biology Having undeveloped or imperfectly developed sexual organs: the neuter caste in social insects.
Botany Having no pistils or stamens; asexual.
Zoology Sexually undeveloped.
Biology Having undeveloped or imperfectly developed sexual organs: the neuter caste in social insects.
Botany Having no pistils or stamens; asexual.
Zoology Sexually undeveloped.
Taking no side; neutral.
n.
Grammar
The neuter gender.
A neuter word.
A neuter noun.
A castrated animal.
A sexually undeveloped or imperfectly developed insect, such as a worker bee.
A plant without stamens or pistils.
One that is neutral.
tr.v.
neu·tered, neu·ter·ing, neu·ters
To castrate or spay.
[Middle English neutre, from Old French, from Latin neuter, neither, neuter : ne-, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + uter, either; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]
1398, of grammatical gender, "neither masculine nor feminine," from L. neuter, lit. "neither one nor the other," from ne- "not, no" (see un-) + uter "either (of two);" probably a loan-translation of Gk. oudeteros "neither, neuter." In 16c., it had the sense of "taking neither side, neutral." The verb is 1903, from the adj., originally in ref. to pet cats.
Mas"cu*line\, a. [L. masculinus, fr. masculus male, manly, dim. of mas a male: cf. F. masculin. See Male masculine.]1. Of the male sex; not female. Thy masculine children, that is to say, thy sons. --Chaucer. 2. Having the qualities of a man; suitable to, or characteristic of, a man; virile; not feminine or effeminate; strong; robust. That lady, after her husband's death, held the reins with a masculine energy. --Hallam. 3. Belonging to males; appropriated to, or used by, males. [R.] "A masculine church." --Fuller. 4. (Gram.) Having the inflections of, or construed with, words pertaining especially to male beings, as distinguished from feminine and neuter. See Gender. -- Mas"cu*line*ly, adv. -- Mas"cu*line*ness, n.
Nei"ther\ (? or ?; 277), a. [OE. neiter, nother, nouther, AS. n[=a]w?er, n[=a]hw[ae]?er; n[=a] never, not + hw[ae]?er whether. The word has followed the form of either. See No, and Whether, and cf. Neuter, Nor.] Not either; not the one or the other. Which of them shall I take? Both? one? or neither? Neither can be enjoyed, If both remain alive. --Shak. He neither loves, Nor either cares for him. --Shak.
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] In all our undertakings God will be either our friend or our enemy; for Providence never stands neuter. --South. 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. 3. (Biol.) Having no generative organs, or imperfectly developed ones; sexless. See Neuter, n., 3.
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] In all our undertakings God will be either our friend or our enemy; for Providence never stands neuter. --South. 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. 3. (Biol.) Having no generative organs, or imperfectly developed ones; sexless. See Neuter, n., 3.
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. The world's no neuter; it will wound or save. --Young. 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. 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.
Neu"tral\, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See Neuter.]1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other. --Shaftesbury. 2. Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not decided or pronounced. Some things good, and some things ill, do seem, And neutral some, in her fantastic eye. --Sir J. Davies. 3. (Biol.) Neuter. See Neuter, a., 3. 4. (Chem.) Having neither acid nor basic properties; unable to turn red litmus blue or blue litmus red; -- said of certain salts or other compounds. Contrasted with acid, and alkaline. Neutral axis, Neutral surface (Mech.), that line or plane, in a beam under transverse pressure, at which the fibers are neither stretched nor compressed, or where the longitudinal stress is zero. See Axis. Neutral equilibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that when moved slighty it neither tends to return to its former position not depart more widely from it, as a perfect sphere or cylinder on a horizontal plane. Neutral salt (Chem.), a salt formed by the complete replacement of the hydrogen in an acid or base; in the former case by a positive or basic, in the latter by a negative or acid, element or radical. Neutral tint, a bluish gray pigment, used in water colors, made by mixing indigo or other blue some warm color. the shades vary greatly. Neutral vowel, the vowel element having an obscure and indefinite quality, such as is commonly taken by the vowel in many unaccented syllables. It is regarded by some as identical with the [u^] in up, and is called also the natural vowel, as unformed by art and effort. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 17.
Neu"tral\, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See Neuter.]1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other. --Shaftesbury. 2. Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not decided or pronounced. Some things good, and some things ill, do seem, And neutral some, in her fantastic eye. --Sir J. Davies. 3. (Biol.) Neuter. See Neuter, a., 3. 4. (Chem.) Having neither acid nor basic properties; unable to turn red litmus blue or blue litmus red; -- said of certain salts or other compounds. Contrasted with acid, and alkaline. Neutral axis, Neutral surface (Mech.), that line or plane, in a beam under transverse pressure, at which the fibers are neither stretched nor compressed, or where the longitudinal stress is zero. See Axis. Neutral equilibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that when moved slighty it neither tends to return to its former position not depart more widely from it, as a perfect sphere or cylinder on a horizontal plane. Neutral salt (Chem.), a salt formed by the complete replacement of the hydrogen in an acid or base; in the former case by a positive or basic, in the latter by a negative or acid, element or radical. Neutral tint, a bluish gray pigment, used in water colors, made by mixing indigo or other blue some warm color. the shades vary greatly. Neutral vowel, the vowel element having an obscure and indefinite quality, such as is commonly taken by the vowel in many unaccented syllables. It is regarded by some as identical with the [u^] in up, and is called also the natural vowel, as unformed by art and effort. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 17.
Verb\, n. [F. verbe, L. verbum a word, verb. See Word.]1. A word; a vocable. [Obs.] --South. 2. (Gram.) A word which affirms or predicates something of some person or thing; a part of speech expressing being, action, or the suffering of action. Note: A verb is a word whereby the chief action of the mind [the assertion or the denial of a proposition] finds expression. --Earle. Active verb, Auxiliary verb, Neuter verb, etc. See Active, Auxiliary, Neuter, etc.
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