maidenly
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of maidenly
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at maiden, -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Maidenly reserve, however, forbade even a hint of what might seem to others a conceited and indelicate surmise.
From The Earth Trembled by Roe, Edward Payson
Maidenly fright and consternation cannot account rationally for such behavior; one sees that she holds her tongue because to set it in motion would be dramaturgically disastrous.
From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Thomas, Calvin
Maidenly ladies, prim and starched, in one or two instances called upon the Doctor—the two children meanwhile being in the graveyard at play—to give him Christian advice as to the management of his charge.
From Doctor Grimshawe's Secret — a Romance by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Maidenly modesty is one of the best qualities which any young lady can possess.
From Plain Facts for Old and Young by Kellogg, John Harvey
Maidenly niceness not her motive for the distance she has kept him at.
From Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady — Volume 4 by Richardson, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
