vestal virgin

American  

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) one of four, later six, virgins consecrated to Vesta and to the tending of the sacred fire on her altar.

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vestal virgin British  

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) one of the four, later six, virgin priestesses whose lives were dedicated to Vesta and to maintaining the sacred fire in her temple

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Etymology

Origin of vestal virgin

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vestal virgin

The story of the vestal virgin Claudia Quinta represents one such instance.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

His father was a "lunger," and ex-professor from the East; his mother a vestal virgin dedicated to keeping the home fires burning.

From Time Magazine Archive

Tom lighted them a blazing fire every day, and tended it during their absence with the care of a vestal virgin, so they were extremely cosy and jolly there.

From Monitress Merle by Brazil, Angela

Fantine had the long, white, fine fingers of the vestal virgin who stirs the ashes of the sacred fire with a golden pin.

From Les Misérables by Hapgood, Isabel Florence

She is vowed as a vestal virgin to science.

From The Bacillus of Beauty A Romance of To-day by Stark, Harriet