Adjacent Words

Maiden definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

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, n. A maid; also, an instrument for beheading criminals, and another for washing linen.
MA'IDEN, a. 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, v.i. To speak and act demurely or modestly.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage" [syn: inaugural, initiative, initiatory, first, maiden] n
1: an unmarried girl (especially a virgin) [syn: maid, maiden]
2: (cricket) an over in which no runs are scored [syn: maiden over, maiden]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English męgden, m?den, diminutive of męgeth; akin to Old High German magad maiden, Old Irish mug serf Date: before 12th century 1. an unmarried girl or woman ; maid 2. a former Scottish beheading device resembling the guillotine 3. a horse that has never won a race II. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) not married <a maiden aunt> (2) virgin b. of a female animal (1) never yet mated (2) never having borne young 2. of, relating to, or befitting a maiden 3. first, earliest <a ship's maiden voyage> <the maiden flight of a spacecraft>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a archaic or poet. a girl; a young unmarried woman. b (attrib.) unmarried (maiden aunt). 2 Cricket = maiden over. 3 (attrib.) (of a female animal) unmated. 4 (often attrib.) a a horse that has never won a race. b a race open only to such horses. 5 (attrib.) being or involving the first attempt or occurrence (maiden speech; maiden voyage). Phrases and idioms: maiden name a wife's surname before marriage. maiden over Cricket an over in which no runs are scored off the bat. Derivatives: maidenhood n. maidenish adj. maidenlike adj. maidenly adj. Etymology: OE mægden, dimin. f. mægeth f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Maiden Maid"en, a. 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 ? --Shak. 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. --Shak. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Maiden Maid"en, n. [OE. maiden, meiden, AS. m[ae]gden, dim. of AS. m[ae]g?, fr. mago son, servant; akin to G. magd, m["a]dchen, maid, OHG. magad, Icel. m["o]gr 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Maiden Maid"en, v. 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(maidens) 1. A maiden is a young girl or woman. (LITERARY) ...stories of noble princes and their brave deeds on behalf of beautiful maidens. N-COUNT 2. The maiden voyage or flight of a ship or aircraft is the first official journey that it makes. In 1912, the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Girl, virgin, maid. II. a. 1. Of maids, of virgins. 2. Pure, chaste, undefiled, virgin, unpolluted. 3. Fresh, new, unused. 4. Unmarried.

Moby Thesaurus

ax, babe, baby, bachelor girl, bachelorlike, beardless, block, boyish, boylike, broad, calflike, callow, chaste, chick, chief, childish, childlike, colleen, coltish, cross, cutie, dame, damoiselle, damsel, death chair, death chamber, demoiselle, dewy, doll, drop, earliest, electric chair, ever-new, evergreen, feme sole, filly, first, firsthand, fledgling, foremost, frail, fresh, front, gal, gallows, gallows-tree, gas chamber, gibbet, girl, girlie, girlish, girllike, green, guillotine, halter, head, heifer, hemp, hempen collar, hot seat, hoyden, husbandless, immature, inaugural, initial, intact, jeune fille, jill, junior miss, kiddish, lass, lassie, leading, lethal chamber, little missy, lone woman, mademoiselle, maid, maiden lady, maidenly, main, miss, missy, neoteric, nestling, new, noose, nymphet, old maid, old-maidish, original, piece, pioneer, premier, primary, prime, principal, pristine, puerile, puplike, puppyish, puppylike, quail, raw, romp, rope, scaffold, schoolgirl, schoolmaid, schoolmiss, sempervirent, shakedown, single, single girl, skirt, slip, sole, spinster, spinsterish, spinsterlike, spinsterly, spinstress, spouseless, stake, subdeb, subdebutante, subteen, subteener, teenybopper, the chair, tomato, tomboy, tree, unbeaten, undefiled, undeveloped, unfledged, unhandled, unmarried, untouched, untried, untrodden, unused, unwed, unwedded, vernal, vestal, vestal virgin, virgin, virginal, wench, young, young creature, young thing