maiden

American  

[meyd-n] / ˈmeɪd n /

noun

maidens plural

1. a girl or young unmarried woman; maid.

2. Archaic. a female virgin.

3. Maiden, (in Neopaganism) the first form of the Goddess, represented as a young woman and said to symbolize youth and the first stages of life or growth.

4. a horse that has never won a race.

5. a race open only to maiden horses.

6. an instrument resembling the guillotine, formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals.

7. Cricket. maiden over.

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adjective

1. Archaic. of, relating to, or befitting a girl or unmarried woman.

   her maiden virtues.

2. Archaic. (of a woman, especially one past middle age) unmarried.

   my maiden aunt.

3. (of a girl or woman) never having had sexual intercourse; virgin.

4. made, tried, appearing, etc., for the first time.

   a maiden flight.

5. (of a horse) never having won a race or a prize.

6. (of a prize or a race) offered for or open only to maiden horses.

7. untried, as a knight, soldier, or weapon.

maiden British  

/ ˈmeɪdən /

noun

1. archaic

   1. a young unmarried girl, esp when a virgin

   2. ( as modifier )

      a maiden blush

2. horse racing

   1. a horse that has never won a race

   2. ( as modifier )

      a maiden race

3. cricket See maiden over

4. Also called: clothes maiden.  dialect a frame on which clothes are hung to dry; clothes horse

5. (modifier) of or relating to an older unmarried woman

   a maiden aunt

6. (modifier) of or involving an initial experience or attempt

   a maiden voyage

   maiden speech

7. (modifier) (of a person or thing) untried; unused

8. (modifier) (of a place) never trodden, penetrated, or captured

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• maidenship
  noun
• maiden-like
  adjective
• maidenish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• maidens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of maiden

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English mægden, equivalent to mægd, mæg(e)th (cognate with German Magd, Gothic magaths ) + -en -en ⁵

Explanation

Maiden is an old-fashioned term for a girl or an unmarried young woman. If you like reading fantasy novels, you've probably encountered plenty of knights and maidens — and maybe even a dragon or two. These days, you will hardly ever see this word used to mean an unmarried woman, except maybe humorously. However, you will see it used when discussing the maiden voyage of a ship or plane: in both cases, the word indicates youth and inexperience. Also, the maiden name of a married woman is her name before marriage, a name many women keep after marriage too. There is also a meaning of maiden in the baseball-like British game of cricket.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maiden maidens

Bell Potter says the higher costs were driven by lower grades, weaker sales volumes, higher diesel costs and accounting impacts of the integration of maiden copper production from the new Jericho mine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Last month, the Hangzhou-based company raised $7.4 billion in its maiden external funding round, where investors valued it at more than $50 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The triumph arrived eight months after India lifted their maiden senior Women's ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai and a fortnight after a wretched T20 World Cup campaign ended in a group-stage exit at Lord's.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The victory came 40 years after India's maiden women's Test tour of England in 1986 and extended their unbeaten Test record in the country to 10 matches - three wins and seven draws.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Heartbroken, he said, but as his own father had died in defence of the kingdom, so did his fair maiden.

From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

She conceded just 17 runs in her 10 overs, three of which were maidens and into the bargain accounted for four wickets.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025

Starc ripped through the West Indies' top order as he finished with figures of 6-9 from 7.3 overs - four of those being maidens.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025

Reviewing that production in The New York Times, Anna Kisselgoff praised Ms. Graves’s performance as the Queen of the Wilis, ghostly maidens who had died of broken hearts.

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

The rustic utopia would be a place where they could “bleach linens at the brook like the maidens of Homer’s ‘Iliad’!

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

For everywhere the dance of maidens swayed and the clear call of the lyre sounded and the ringing notes of flutes.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• inaugural
• introductory