Virgin

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/

Definitions

1. Someone who has never engaged in sexual intercourse
2. An individual who has not experienced sexual activity ; remaining in a pure or unused state ; an olive oil extracted mechanically without chemical treatment
3. A person lacking sexual experience ; something kept original and unaltered ; a kind of oil derived from first pressing olives

Etymology: Virgin is a doublet of Virgo, the name of the constellation, and both trace back to Latin "virgō," a word for a young unmarried woman. The Latin noun also gave English the zodiac sign, so the same root names a star pattern and a state of sexual innocence. The Old French "virgine" carried the word into Middle English as "virgine," and it pushed out the native Old English "fǣmne," which had meant a young woman or maiden. The sense of purity or being unused came later, extending the core idea of untouched innocence to things that had never been handled or altered. That broader use is why the same adjective now describes untouched land, a first run of something, or olive oil made without chemical treatment. Each sense grows from the original notion of a person who has not yet been touched by experience.

Synonyms: untouched, pure, unspoiled, pristine, innocent

Antonyms: experienced, corrupted, tainted, damaged, defiled