virgin: Meaning and Definition of

vir•gin

Pronunciation: (vûr'jin), [key]
— n.
  1. a person who has never had sexual intercourse.
  2. an unmarried girl or woman.
  3. an unmarried, religious woman, esp. a saint.
  4. Mary, the mother of Christ.
  5. any person who is uninitiated, uninformed, or the like: He's still a virgin as far as hard work is concerned.
  6. a female animal that has never copulated.
  7. an unfertilized insect.
  8. (cap.)the constellation or sign of Virgo.
—adj.
  1. being a virgin: a virgin martyr.
  2. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a virgin: virgin modesty.
  3. pure; unsullied; undefiled: virgin snow.
  4. first: the senator's virgin speech.
  5. without admixture, alloy, or modification: virgin gold.
  6. not previously exploited, cultivated, tapped, or used: virgin timberlands; virgin wool.
  7. without experience of; not previously exposed to: a mind virgin to such sorrows.
  8. being a mixed drink resembling a specific cocktail but made without any alcoholic ingredient: a virgin piña colada.
  9. not fertilized.
  10. (of a metal) made directly from ore by smelting, rather than from scrap.
  11. noting the oil obtained, as from olives, by the first pressing without the application of heat.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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