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

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

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

Virgin Australia, which cancelled all its flights to and from Bali on Wednesday, said in a statement: “Safety is always our highest priority, and our meteorology team is closely monitoring the situation.”

From BBC

In another mailer, De León posed with firefighters in front of the iconic Virgin of Guadalupe shrine at the Ramona Garden housing complex in Boyle Heights and talked to voters at Mariachi Plaza.

From Los Angeles Times

Richard Branson, who founded space tourism company Virgin Galactic, once noted that he too is “determined to being a part of starting a population on Mars.”

From Salon

Zoe, a former flight attendant with Virgin Atlantic, was on a flight to Ibiza on a different carrier where many of the passengers had been drinking in the airport bar beforehand, she says.

From BBC

The Virgin tycoon officiated the ceremony, and told The Sunday Times - who first reported on the wedding - it was an “absolute joy to play a small part” in the couple’s love story.

From BBC