virgin

virgin · noun, adjective¹

1. Latin · derived fromvirginem
2. Old French · derived fromvirgine
3. Middle English · inherited fromvirgine
4. English todayvirgin

From Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō. Doublet of Virgo. Displaced native Old English fǣmne.

Virgin · proper noun, noun²

From virgin, q.v. The sense of Mary, mother of Jesus, comes from the Christian belief in Jesus's virgin birth and Mary's freedom from sin. The river sense derives from the name of Thomas Virgin, a member of the first American party to see the river, led by Jedediah Smith in 1826. The town sense derives from the name of the river, along which it is located.

First known use, by meaning

• from mid-14th c. A person who has never engaged in any sexual activity at all.
• from early 13th c. Someone vowed to virginity (usually a woman and often a consecrated virgin), or someone who died in defense of their virginity; (especially) one venerated as a saint.