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VIRGIN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22
Synonyms:
Virgin; Virgo; Virgo the Virgin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Instance hypernyms:
house; mansion; planetary house; sign; sign of the zodiac; star sign ((astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Virgo
Synonyms:
Virgin; Virgo
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("Virgin" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Domain category:
astrology; star divination (a pseudoscience claiming divination by the positions of the planets and sun and moon)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A person who has never had sex
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("virgin" is a kind of...):
inexperienced person; innocent (a person who lacks knowledge of evil)
Derivation:
virgin; virginal (in a state of sexual virginity)
virginal (characteristic of a virgin or virginity)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In a state of sexual virginity
Example:
men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal
Synonyms:
pure; vestal; virgin; virginal; virtuous
Classified under:
Similar:
chaste (morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse))
Derivation:
virgin (a person who has never had sex)
virginity (the condition or quality of being a virgin)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Being used or worked for the first time
Example:
virgin wool
Classified under:
Similar:
new (not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered)
Context examples:
This exploit was particularly gratifying to the three men; for they stood in need of the outfit which it furnished, and were enabled to make a long-desired trip into the virgin East, where miners had not yet appeared.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
My master, sire, is under vow to the Virgin neither to reveal his name nor to open his vizor until he is back upon French ground once more.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
God and the Blessed Virgin and the saints help a poor ignorant soul trying to do his duty....
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
No, that will do: but after your mama went to the Holy Virgin, as you say, with whom did you live then?
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Brain cells from mice fed diets enriched with extra-virgin olive oil had higher levels of autophagy and reduced levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau, said senior investigator Domenico Praticò.
(Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s, VOA News)
Three dietary fats (virgin olive oil, sunflower oil and fish oils) were studied and virgin olive oil was shown to the best of the three for preserving the liver throughout life.
(Long-term consumption of sunflower and fish oils damages the liver, University of Granada)
An estimated 8.9 billion tonnes of virgin plastic (non-recycled) and secondary plastic (produced from recycled products) have been manufactured since the middle of the last century, when plastics began to be produced on an industrial scale.
(Scientists develop biodegradable plastic from cassava starch, SciDev.Net)
“For the sake of God, sirs,” he whispered as he passed, “speak him fair and do not rouse him! For the love of the Virgin, be mild with him!”
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The mice were put into two groups, one group got a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil, while the other group received a normal diet.
(Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s, VOA News)
“By the Virgin of Rennes! you have given me cause to be very certain of it,” said Du Guesclin, with a gleam of his broad white teeth.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
