maiden

1 of 2

noun

maid·​en ˈmā-dᵊn How to pronounce maiden (audio)
1
: an unmarried girl or woman : maid
2
: a former Scottish beheading device resembling the guillotine (see guillotine sense 1)
3
: a horse that has never won a race

maiden

2 of 2

adjective

1
a(1)
: not married
a maiden aunt
(2)
: virgin
b of a female animal
(1)
: never yet mated
(2)
: never having borne young
2
: of, relating to, or befitting a maiden
3
: first, earliest
a ship's maiden voyage
the maiden flight of a spacecraft

Examples of maiden in a Sentence

Noun a story about a courageous knight who rescues a fair maiden a story about a beautiful maiden and her mysterious father Adjective the maiden issue of a new magazine a politician giving his maiden speech in the Senate
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Its maiden and hero product, Rested, hones in on sleep as the fundamental step to optimizing cognitive and immune function. Bianca Salonga, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025 Their violence — in medieval bestiaries, unicorns are regularly said to have beef with elephants and take them down by goring their bellies — is contrasted with their gentleness towards maidens and innate understanding of purity. Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
The ride is one of several new activities on board – the first in the line’s Prima Plus Class – which sailed its maiden voyage earlier this month ahead of its first revenue sailing on March 28. Who can ride Norwegian Cruise Line’s Aqua Slidecoaster? Nathan Diller, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025 The 144,000-gross-ton, 4,000-passenger vessel will begin sailing with its maiden voyage in November 2025 from Port Everglades followed by an inaugural season of four- and five-night voyages to the Bahamas and western Caribbean. Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for maiden

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Old English mægden, mǣden, diminutive of mægeth; akin to Old High German magad maiden, Old Irish mug serf

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Time Traveler
The first known use of maiden was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Maiden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maiden. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

maiden

1 of 2 noun
maid·​en ˈmād-ᵊn How to pronounce maiden (audio)
: a young unmarried girl or woman
maidenhood
-ˌhu̇d
noun
maidenly
-lē
adjective

maiden

2 of 2 adjective
1
a
: not married
maiden aunt
2
: of or relating to a maiden
3
: coming before all others : first, earliest
maiden voyage

More from Merriam-Webster on maiden

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