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maiden

- 7 dictionary results

maid⋅en

  [meyd-n]
Use maiden in a Sentence
–noun
1. a girl or young unmarried woman; maid.
2. a horse that has never won a race.
3. a race open only to maiden horses.
4. an instrument resembling the guillotine, formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals.
5. Cricket. maiden over.
–adjective
6. of, pertaining to, or befitting a girl or unmarried woman.
7. (of a woman) unmarried: my maiden aunt.
8. made, tried, appearing, etc., for the first time: a maiden flight.
9. virgin.
10. (of a horse) never having won a race or a prize.
11. (of a prize or a race) offered for or open only to maiden horses.
12. untried, as a knight, soldier, or weapon.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE mægden, equiv. to mægd, mæg(e)th (c. G Magd, Goth magaths) + -en -en 5

Related forms:
maid⋅en⋅ish, adjective
maid⋅en⋅ship, noun

maiden over

 
–noun
Cricket. an over in which no runs are made.
Also called maiden.

Origin:
1850–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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maid·en   (mād'n)   
n.  
    1. An unmarried girl or woman.
    2. A virgin.
    3. A racehorse that has never won a race.
    4. A maiden over.
  2. A machine resembling the guillotine, used in Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries to behead criminals.
  3. Sports
    1. A racehorse that has never won a race.
    2. A maiden over.
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or befitting a maiden: a maiden blush.
  2. Being an unmarried girl or woman: a maiden aunt.
  3. Being a racehorse that has never won a race.
  4. First or earliest: a maiden voyage; a maiden speech in the Senate.

[Middle English, from Old English mægden; see maghu- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : maiden
Spanish: doncella,
German: unverheiratete Frau,
Japanese: 未婚女性
More Translations »

maiden 
O.E. mæden, mægden, dim. of mægð, mægeð "maid," from P.Gmc. *magadinom "young womanhood, sexually inexperienced female" (cf. O.S. magath, O.Fris. maged, O.H.G. magad, Ger. Magd "maid, maidservant," Ger. Mädchen "girl, maid," from Mägdchen "little maid"), fem. variant of PIE base *maghu- "youngster of either sex, unmarried person" (cf. O.E. magu "child, son," Avestan magava- "unmarried," O.Ir. maug "slave"). Figurative sense of "new fresh, first" (cf. maiden voyage) first recorded 1555. For maidenhead (c.1300) see godhead.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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