maiden

/ˈmeɪdn/

/ˈmeɪdɪn/

Other forms: maidens

Maiden is an old-fashioned term for a girl or an unmarried young woman. If you like reading fantasy novels, you've probably encountered plenty of knights and maidens — and maybe even a dragon or two.

These days, you will hardly ever see this word used to mean an unmarried woman, except maybe humorously. However, you will see it used when discussing the maiden voyage of a ship or plane: in both cases, the word indicates youth and inexperience. Also, the maiden name of a married woman is her name before marriage, a name many women keep after marriage too. There is also a meaning of maiden in the baseball-like British game of cricket.

Definitions of maiden

1. noun

   an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
   synonyms: maid

   examples:

   Io

   (Greek mythology) a maiden seduced by Zeus; when Hera was about to discover them together Zeus turned her into a white heifer

   types:

   damoiselle, damosel, damozel, damsel, demoiselle

   a young unmarried woman

   type of:

   fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman

   a young woman
2. adjective

   serving to set in motion
   “the liner's maiden voyage”

   synonyms: first, inaugural, initiative, initiatory

   opening

   first or beginning
3. noun

   (cricket) an over in which no runs are scored
   synonyms: maiden over

   type of:

   over

   (cricket) the division of play during which six balls are bowled at the batsman by one player from the other team from the same end of the pitch