- a woman, esp. a young woman, who has never had sexual intercourse
- Archaic an unmarried girl or woman
- a man, esp. a youth, who has never had sexual intercourse
- Informal a person who is entirely new to or inexperienced in a specified thing: a stock market virgin
- Zool.
- a female animal that has not copulated
- a female insect that lays eggs without impregnation by the male
Origin of virgin
Middle English from Old French virgine from Classical Latin virgo (gen. virginis), maiden: uncertain or unknown; perhaps akin to virga, slender branch, twig, shoot- being a virgin
- composed of virgins
- characteristic of or proper to a virgin; chaste; modest
- like or suggesting a virgin because untouched, unmarked, pure, clean, etc.: virgin snow
- up to this time unused, unexplored, unworked, undiscovered, etc.: a virgin forest
- occurring uncombined in its native form: virgin silver
- being the first; initial: a virgin effort
- obtained from the first pressing, without the use of heat: said of an oil, esp. olive oil
- obtained directly from an ore or raw material: said esp. of a metal
- made without alcohol: said of a drink otherwise prepared like a cocktail: a virgin piña colada
virgin Idioms
the Virgin
- Mary, the mother of Jesus
- Virgo, the constellation and sixth sign of the zodiac
