virginal

adjective

of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting a virgin: virginal purity.

continuing in a state of virginity.

pure; unsullied; untouched: a virginal mountain stream.

Zoology. not fertilized.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin virginālis, equivalent to virgin- virgin + -ālis -al¹

Related forms

vir·gin·al·ly, adverb

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Virginal is always a great word to know.

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phylum of worms with bilateral symmetry and soft, usually flattened bodies

warm-blooded vertebrate with feathers, wings, scaly legs and beak which bear young in shelled eggs

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

Often, virginals. a rectangular harpsichord with the strings stretched parallel to the keyboard, the earlier types placed on a table: popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Origin:
1520–30; apparently special use of virginal¹

Related forms

vir·gin·al·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To virginal

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World English Dictionary

virginal¹ (ˈvɜːdʒɪn^əl)

—*adj*
1.	of, relating to, characterized by, proper to, or maintaining a state of virginity; chaste
2.	extremely pure or fresh; untouched; undefiled

[C15: from Latin virginālis maidenly, from virgō virgin]

'virginally¹

—*adv*

virginal² (ˈvɜːdʒɪn^əl)

—n
	(often plural) a smaller version of the harpsichord, but oblong in shape, having one manual and no pedals

[C16: probably from Latin virginālisvirginal¹, perhaps because it was played largely by young ladies]

'virginalist²

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Matching Quote

"The traveller, however virginal and enthusiastic, does not enjoy an unbroken ecstasy. He has periods of gloom, periods when he asks himself the object of all these exertions, and puts the question whether or not he is really experiencing pleasure. At such times he suspects that he is not seeing the right things, that the characteristic, the right aspects of these strange scenes are escaping him. He looks forward dully to the days of his holiday yet to pass, and wonders how he will dispose of them. He is disgusted because his money is not more, his command of the language so slight, and his capacity for enjoyment so limited."

-Arnold Bennett

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