maiden

1 of 2

noun

maid·​en ˈmā-dᵊn 

1

: an unmarried girl or woman : maid

2

: a former Scottish beheading device resembling the guillotine (see guillotine sense 1)

3

: a horse that has never won a race

maiden

2 of 2

adjective

1

a(1)

: not married

a maiden aunt

(2)

: virgin

b of a female animal

(1)

: never yet mated

(2)

: never having borne young

2

: of, relating to, or befitting a maiden

3

: first, earliest

a ship's maiden voyage

the maiden flight of a spacecraft

Synonyms

Noun

• damsel
• demoiselle
• girl
• maid
• miss

Adjective

• earliest
• first
• foremost
• headmost
• inaugural
• initial
• leadoff
• original
• pioneer
• premier
• virgin

Examples of maiden in a Sentence

Noun

a story about a courageous knight who rescues a fair maiden

a story about a beautiful maiden and her mysterious father

Adjective

the maiden issue of a new magazine

a politician giving his maiden speech in the Senate

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Seventeen laps later, Norris reluctantly agreed but the incident took the shine off Piastri’s maiden Formula 1 win and McLaren’s first one-two finish in three years. —Dan Cancian, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024

Assigning roles to villagers is part of the depth as players have to figure out how to defend the maiden before nightfall. —Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024

Adjective

Diana of Versailles was last spotted in 1986 among the wreckage of the infamous passenger liner, which sank during its maiden voyage in a desolate corner of the North Atlantic 112 years ago. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 4 Sep. 2024

The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage from England to New York in 1912. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Old English mægden, mǣden, diminutive of mægeth; akin to Old High German magad maiden, Old Irish mug serf

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing maiden

• iron maiden
• maiden name
• sea-maiden

Kids Definition

maiden

1 of 2 noun

maid·​en ˈmād-ᵊn 

: a young unmarried girl or woman

maidenhood

-ˌhu̇d

noun

maidenly

-lē

adjective

maiden

2 of 2 adjective

1

a

: not married

maiden aunt

b

: virgin entry 2 sense 1

2

: of or relating to a maiden

3

: coming before all others : first, earliest

maiden voyage