virgin

[ vur-jin ]

noun

1. a person who has never had sexual intercourse.
2. an unmarried girl or woman.

   Synonyms: maiden, maid

3. Ecclesiastical. an unmarried, religious woman, especially a saint.
4. the Virgin, Mary, the mother of Christ.
5. Informal. any person who is uninitiated, uninformed, or the like:

   He's still a virgin as far as hard work is concerned.

6. a female animal that has never copulated.
7. an unfertilized insect.
8. Virgin, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Virgo.

adjective

1. being a virgin:

   a virgin martyr.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a virgin:

   virgin modesty.

3. pure; unsullied; undefiled:

   virgin snow.

   Synonyms: chaste

   Antonyms: defiled

4. first:

   the senator's virgin speech.

5. without admixture, alloy, or modification:

   virgin gold.

   Synonyms: unadulterated, unalloyed

   Antonyms: impure

6. not previously exploited, cultivated, tapped, or used: virgin wool.

   virgin timberlands;

   virgin wool.

   Synonyms: untouched, pristine, new

7. without experience of; not previously exposed to:

   a mind virgin to such sorrows.

8. Informal. being a mixed drink resembling a specific cocktail but made without any alcoholic ingredient:

   a virgin piña colada.

9. Zoology. not fertilized.
10. (of a metal) made directly from ore by smelting, rather than from scrap.
11. noting the oil obtained, as from olives, by the first pressing without the application of heat.

Virgin

¹

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. the Virgin
   the Virgin the constellation Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac

virgin

²

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. a person, esp a woman, who has never had sexual intercourse
2. an unmarried woman who has taken a religious vow of chastity in order to dedicate herself totally to God
3. any female animal that has never mated
4. a female insect that produces offspring by parthenogenesis
5. a person who is new to or inexperienced in a specified field

   a political virgin

adjective

1. of, relating to, resembling, suitable for, or characteristic of a virgin or virgins; chaste
2. pure and natural, uncorrupted, unsullied, or untouched

   virgin purity

3. not yet cultivated, explored, exploited, etc, by man

   virgin territories

4. being the first or happening for the first time
5. (of vegetable oils) obtained directly by the first pressing of fruits, leaves, or seeds of plants without applying heat
6. (of a metal) made from an ore rather than from scrap
7. occurring naturally in a pure and uncombined form

   virgin silver

8. physics (of a neutron) not having experienced a collision

Virgin

³

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. See Virgin Mary
   the Virgin
   the Virgin See Virgin Mary
2. a statue or other artistic representation of the Virgin Mary

Other Words From

• un·virgin adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of virgin¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English virgine, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin virgin-, stem of virgō “maiden, virgin”

Word History and Origins

Origin of virgin¹

C13: from Old French virgine, from Latin virgō virgin

Example Sentences

The virgin birth is mentioned in the...what...gasp...Koran?!

From The Daily Beast

And Pope Alexander VI had the painter Pinturicchio disguise his mistress as the Virgin Mary in one fresco.

From The Daily Beast

Are we going to see you on a Virgin Galactic or SpaceX flight in the future?

From The Daily Beast

It has now been revealed that Princess Beatrice will not be among those who will ultimately voyage with Virgin Galactic.

From The Daily Beast

Her long-term boyfriend Dave Clark is head of ‘astronaut relations’ for Virgin Galactic.

From The Daily Beast

The Authorised Version has: “And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.”

From Project Gutenberg

I was thinking of any thing but the Virgin, or the window, or the light; I was thinking of my companion—so fair, and so devout.

From Project Gutenberg

She fixed her imploring eyes on the Virgin's face and on the saints; but all seemed to her to wear a forbidding look.

From Project Gutenberg

Were they to be driven out,—driven out this very day, when the Virgin had only just now seemed to promise her help and protection?

From Project Gutenberg

The print of steel-rimmed hoofs showed in the soft loam as plainly as a moccasin-track in virgin snow.

From Project Gutenberg