Log in or Sign up

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. An unmarried girl or woman.
  2. n. A virgin.
  3. n. A machine resembling the guillotine, used in Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries to behead criminals.
  4. n. Sports A racehorse that has never won a race.
  5. n. Sports A maiden over.
  6. adj. Of, relating to, or befitting a maiden: a maiden blush.
  7. adj. Being an unmarried girl or woman: a maiden aunt.
  8. adj. Being a racehorse that has never won a race.
  9. adj. First or earliest: a maiden voyage; a maiden speech in the Senate.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A maid, in any sense of that word. See maid.
  2. n. An animal or a thing that is young, new, inexperienced, untried, or untaken. Specifically
  3. n. The last handful of corn cut down by the reapers on a farm. It is dressed up with ribbons.
  4. n. A wisp of straw put into a hoop of iron, used by a blacksmith in watering his fire.
  5. n. An instrument of capital punishment formerly used. It consisted of a loaded blade or ax which moved in grooves in a frame about ten feet high. The ax was raised to the top of the frame and then let fall, severing the victim's head from his body.
  6. n. A mallet for beating linen, used in washing.
  7. Being a maid; belonging to the class of maids or virgins.
  8. Of or pertaining to a maid or to maids: as, maiden charms.
  9. Like a maid in any respect; virginal; chaste.
  10. Young; fresh; new; hitherto untried or unused; unsullied; unstained.
  11. To act or speak in a maidenly manner; behave modestly or demurely.
  12. n. A frame on which clothes are dried.
  13. n. plural See mingles.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A girl or an unmarried young woman.
  2. n. A female virgin.
  3. n. A man with no experience of sex, especially because of deliberate abstention.
  4. n. A maidservant.
  5. n. An unmarried woman, especially an older woman.
  6. n. A race horse without any victory ('virgin record').
  7. n. A Scottish counterpart of the guillotine.
  8. n. A maiden over.
  9. adj. virgin
  10. adj. without offspring
  11. adj. like/ fitting a (young, unmarried) maiden
  12. adj. describing a first occurrence or event
  13. adj. describing an over in which no runs are scored

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. An unmarried woman; a girl or woman who has not experienced sexual intercourse; a virgin; a maid.
  2. n. A female servant.
  3. n. An instrument resembling the guillotine, formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals.
  4. n. A machine for washing linen.
  5. adj. Of or pertaining to a maiden, or to maidens; suitable to, or characteristic of, a virgin.
  6. adj. Never having been married; not having had sexual intercourse; virgin; -- said usually of the woman, but sometimes of the man.
  7. adj. Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused.
  8. adj. Used of a fortress, signifying that it has never been captured, or violated.
  9. v. To act coyly like a maiden; -- with it as an indefinite object.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. (cricket) an over in which no runs are scored
  2. adj. serving to set in motion
  3. n. an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Old English mægden; see maghu- in Indo-European roots.

Examples

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘maiden’.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

‘maiden’ has been looked up 1742 times, loved by 1 person, added to 13 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.