VIRGIN

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Virgin mean? 

• VIRGIN (noun)
  The noun VIRGIN has 3 senses:

1. a person who has never had sex

2. (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Virgo

3. the sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22

  Familiarity information: VIRGIN used as a noun is uncommon.

• VIRGIN (adjective)
  The adjective VIRGIN has 2 senses:

1. being used or worked for the first time

2. in a state of sexual virginity

  Familiarity information: VIRGIN used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VIRGIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person who has never had sex

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("virgin" is a kind of...):

inexperienced person; innocent (a person who lacks knowledge of evil)

Derivation:

virgin; virginal (in a state of sexual virginity)

virginal (characteristic of a virgin or virginity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Virgo

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Virgin; Virgo

Hypernyms ("Virgin" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Domain category:

astrology; star divination (a pseudoscience claiming divination by the positions of the planets and sun and moon)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

Virgin; Virgo; Virgo the Virgin

Instance hypernyms:

house; mansion; planetary house; sign; sign of the zodiac; star sign ((astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided)

• VIRGIN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being used or worked for the first time

Context example:

virgin wool

Similar:

new (not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In a state of sexual virginity

Synonyms:

pure; vestal; virgin; virginal; virtuous

Context example:

men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal

Similar:

chaste (morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse))

Derivation:

virgin (a person who has never had sex)

virginity (the condition or quality of being a virgin)

 Context examples 

“Holy Virgin!” cried Ford, “the man is mad. A beard on the face of little Tita!”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, here I am to-night, hoping for sleep, and lying like Ophelia in the play, with "virgin crants and maiden strewments."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I lived long ago with mama; but she is gone to the Holy Virgin.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Madam, replied Mr. Micawber, it is my intention to register such a vow on the virgin page of the future.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are widely chronicled, but new research shows extra-virgin olive oil, a key part of the diet, may protect “against cognitive decline.”

(Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s, VOA News)

The manufacture of virgin plastic so far in the 21st century is equivalent to the volume produced in the previous 50 years.

(Scientists develop biodegradable plastic from cassava starch, SciDev.Net)

The virgin olive oil is the healthiest option, which has already been proven in relation to diverse aspects of health.

(Long-term consumption of sunflower and fish oils damages the liver, University of Granada)

Major components of the phenolic fraction of olive oil, lignans and pinoresinols are potent antioxidants present in extra virgin (first pressed) oils.

(Olive Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

I was exploring virgin territory.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was a lovely trip, the dainty green of the spring below, the virgin white of the winter above; but it was clear to me that never for one instant did Holmes forget the shadow which lay across him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)