maidenly Definition

maiden
noun

1. literary & old use
A young, unmarried woman.
Thesaurus: girl, damsel, lass, miss, nymph.
2. literary & old use
A virgin.
3. horse-racing.
A horse that has never won a race.
4. cricket.
A maiden over.

adj

1. First ever.

Example: maiden voyage
Example: maiden speech
Thesaurus: earliest, beginning, virgin, first, inaugural, initial, new.
2. Unmarried.

Example: maiden aunt
3. Relating to a virgin or a young woman.

Thesaurus: pure, chaste, undefiled, virginal, unmarried; Antonym: defiled, deflowered.
4. literary
Unused; fresh; referring to something that has never been captured, climbed, trodden, penetrated, pruned, etc.
Example: maiden castle
Example: maiden soil
Thesaurus: untappied, untried, unused.
5. Said of a horse race: open to maidens only.

Derivative: maidenish
adj

Derivative: maidenlike
adj

Derivative: maidenly
adj

Suiting, or suitable for, a maiden; gentle or modest.
Thesaurus: feminine, girlish; chaste, demure, vestal, virtuous, reserved, proper; Antonym: immodest.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon mægden.