neuteryoudaoicibaDictYouDict[neuter 词源字典]
neuter: [14] From a formal point of view, Latin neuter is virtually identical to English neither. Both originated as compounds formed from a negative particle and an element meaning ‘which of two’. In the case of neuter these were ne and uter, which in combination denoted etymologically ‘neither one thing nor the other’. The specialized application to grammatical gender soon emerged, and it was in this sense that neuter was first adopted into English. The derivative neutral [16] goes back to Latin neutrālis.
[neuter etymology, neuter origin, 英语词源]
neuter (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1903, from neuter (adj.). Originally in reference to pet cats. Related: Neutered; neutering.
neuter (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., of grammatical gender, "neither masculine nor feminine," from Latin neuter "of the neuter gender," literally "neither one nor the other," from ne- "not, no" (see un-) + uter "either (of two)" (see whether). Probably a loan-translation of Greek oudeteros "neither, neuter." In 16c., it had the sense of "taking neither side, neutral."