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Webster 1913 Edition


Maiden

Maid′en

(mād′’n)
,
Noun.
[OE.
maiden
,
meiden
, AS.
maegden
, dim. of AS.
maegð
, fr.
mago
son, servant; akin to G.
magd
,
mädchen
, maid, OHG.
magad
, Icel.
mögr
son, Goth.
magus
boy, child,
magaps
virgin, and perh. to Zend.
magu
youth. Cf.
Maid
a virgin.]
1.
An unmarried woman; a girl or woman who has not experienced sexual intercourse; a virgin; a maid.
She employed the residue of her life to repairing of highways, building of bridges, and endowing of
maidens
.
Carew.
A
maiden
of our century, yet most meek.
Tennyson.
2.
A female servant.
[Obs.]
3.
An instrument resembling the guillotine, formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals.
Wharton.
4.
A machine for washing linen.

Maid′en

,
Adj.
1.
Of or pertaining to a maiden, or to maidens; suitable to, or characteristic of, a virgin;
as,
maiden
innocence
.
“Amid the maiden throng.”
Addison.
Have you no modesty, no
maiden
shame ?
Shakespeare
2.
Never having been married; not having had sexual intercourse; virgin; – said usually of the woman, but sometimes of the man;
as, a
maiden
aunt
.
“A surprising old maiden lady.”
Thackeray.
3.
Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused.
Maiden flowers.”
Shak.
Full bravely hast thou fleshed
Thy
maiden
sword.
Shakespeare
4.
Used of a fortress, signifying that it has never been captured, or violated.
T. Warton. Macaulay.
Maiden assize
(Eng. Law)
,
an assize which there is no criminal prosecution; an assize which is unpolluted with blood. It was usual, at such an assize, for the sheriff to present the judge with a pair of white gloves.
Smart.
Maiden name
,
the surname of a woman before her marriage.
Maiden pink
.
(Bot.)
See under
Pink
.
Maiden plum
(Bot.)
,
a West Indian tree (
Comocladia integrifolia
) with purplish drupes. The sap of the tree is glutinous, and gives a persistent black stain.
Maiden speech
,
the first speech made by a person, esp. by a new member in a public body.
Maiden tower
,
the tower most capable of resisting an enemy.
maiden voyage
the first regular service voyage of a ship.

Maid′en

,
Verb.
T.
To act coyly like a maiden; – with it as an indefinite object.
For had I
maiden’d
it, as many use.
Loath for to grant, but loather to refuse.
Bp. Hall.
Maiden grass
,
the smaller quaking grass.
Maiden tree
.
See
Ginkgo
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Maiden

MA'IDEN

, n.
1.
An unmarried woman, or a young unmarried woman; a virgin.
2.
A female servant.
3.
It is used in composition, to express the feminine gender, as in maid-servant.

MA'IDEN

,
Noun.
A maid; also, an instrument for beheading criminals, and another for washing linen.

MA'IDEN

,
Adj.
Pertaining to a young woman or virgin; as maiden charms.
1.
Consisting of young women or virgins.
Amid the maiden throng.
2.
Fresh; new; unused.
He fleshed his maiden sword.

MA'IDEN

,
Verb.
I.
To speak and act demurely or modestly.

Definition 2024


Maiden

Maiden

See also: maiden, mäiden, and Mäiden

English

Noun

Maiden (plural Maidens)

  1. (Wicca) One of the triune goddesses of the Lady in Wicca alongside the Crone and Mother representing a girl or a young woman
    • 2002, A.J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 90
      ...different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.
    • 2004, Aurora Greenbough, Cathy Jewell, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spells and Spellcraft, page 9
      The Lady is often thought of as having three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Antonyms

Anagrams


German

Noun

Maiden f

  1. plural of Maid

maiden

maiden

See also: Maiden, mäiden, and Mäiden

English

Noun

maiden (plural maidens)

  1. (now chiefly literary) A girl or an unmarried young woman.
  2. A female virgin.
    She's unmarried and still a maiden.
  3. (obsolete, dialectal) A man with no experience of sex, especially because of deliberate abstention.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter iv, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI:
      As for that said sire Bors I wille be shryuen with a good wylle / Soo syr Bors was confessyd / and for al wymmen sir Bors was a vyrgyne / sauf for one / that was the doughter of kynge Brangorys / and on her he gat a child that hyghte Elayne / and sauf for her syre Bors was a clene mayden
  4. A maidservant.
  5. (now rare) An unmarried woman, especially an older woman.
  6. (horse racing) A racehorse without any victory ('virgin record').
  7. (historical) A Scottish counterpart of the guillotine.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wharton to this entry?)
  8. (cricket) A maiden over.
  9. (obsolete) A machine for washing linen.
  10. (Wicca) Alternative form of Maiden

Derived terms

Related terms

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

maiden (not comparable)

  1. Virgin.
    • William Thackeray
      a surprising old maiden lady
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House
      It was just the middle of October when I moved in with my maiden sister []
  2. (of a female, human or animal) Without offspring.
  3. Like or befitting a (young, unmarried) maiden.
    • Shakespeare
      Have you no modesty, no maiden shame?
  4. (figuratively) Being a first occurrence or event.
    The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
    After Edmund Burke's maiden speech, William Pitt the Elder said Burke had "spoken in such a manner as to stop the mouths of all Europe" and that the Commons should congratulate itself on acquiring such a member.
    • 2012 May 13, Andrew Benson, “Williams's Pastor Maldonado takes landmark Spanish Grand Prix win”, in BBC Sport:
      Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado took his maiden victory and Williams's first since 2004 in a strategic battle with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
  5. (cricket) Being an over in which no runs are scored.
  6. Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused.
    • Shakespeare
      maiden flowers
    • Shakespeare
      Full bravely hast thou fleshed / Thy maiden sword.
  7. (of a fortress) Never having been captured or violated.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of T. Warton to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Macaulay to this entry?)
  8. (of a tree) Grown from seed and never pruned

Synonyms

Translations

Anagrams


Finnish

Alternative forms

Noun

maiden

  1. Genitive plural form of maa.

Anagrams