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virginal

1 American  
[vur-juh-nl] / ˈvɜr dʒə nl /

adjective

  1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting a virgin.

    virginal purity.

  2. continuing in a state of virginity.

  3. pure; unsullied; untouched.

    a virginal mountain stream.

  4. Zoology. not fertilized.

virginal 2 American  
[vur-juh-nl] / ˈvɜr dʒə nl /

noun

  1. 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.

virginal 1 British  
/ ˈvɜːdʒɪnəl /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, characterized by, proper to, or maintaining a state of virginity; chaste

  2. extremely pure or fresh; untouched; undefiled

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
virginal 2 British  
/ ˈvɜːdʒɪnəl /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of virginal1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin virginālis, equivalent to virgin- (stem of virgō virgin ) + -ālis -al 1

Origin of virginal2

First recorded in 1520–30; apparently special use of virginal 1

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.

Virginal student Abby falls for tattooed bad boy Travis but she's fleeing from her past and he reminds her of it, so how can they ever be together?

From The Guardian • Aug. 1, 2012

Mr. Weiss was on his own on Sunday afternoon at Corpus Christi Church, when he opened the Music Before 1800 season with “A Cleare Day,” a program of selections from the “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.”

From New York Times • Sep. 26, 2011

The unofficially censored book is Edwin Franden Dakin's Mrs. Eddy: The Biography of a Virginal Mind, published by Scribner's last August, now unobtainable at many a bookstore.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another well-known Virginal Book, that at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge, commonly known as 'Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book,' is being published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

From Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries by Naylor, Edward W. (Edward Woodall)

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book contains a long series of interesting pieces for the virginal, and more still remains unpublished in Lady Neville's Virginal Book and other contemporary collections.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

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.