Meaning & use
maiden
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedliterary
A young woman, especially one who is not married, in old stories and poetry.
Grammar: Sounds old-fashioned or poetic today.
Patterns
- a fair maiden
- a maiden in distress
The knight set out to rescue the maiden from the tower.
The poem describes a maiden singing by the river.
In the fairy tale, a maiden finds a magic ring.
adjectivebefore a noun
Being the first of its kind, such as a first voyage or speech.
Grammar: Used before nouns like voyage, flight or speech.
Patterns
- maiden voyage
- maiden speech
The ship sank on her maiden voyage.
The new senator gave her maiden speech yesterday.
The rocket completed its maiden flight without a problem.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to a woman's name before she married.
Grammar: Almost always in the phrase maiden name.
Patterns
- maiden name
Her maiden name was Clarke before she married.
The form asks for your mother's maiden name.
Word forms
| plural | maidens |
|---|
Common combinations
- maiden voyage
- The cruise liner's maiden voyage sold out.
- maiden name
- She still uses her maiden name at work.
- maiden speech
- He gave his maiden speech in parliament.
- maiden flight
- The plane's maiden flight took place at dawn.
- damsel and maiden
- The fable opens with a maiden lost in a forest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- damsel
- Damsel is even more archaic and tied to fairy tales, usually in distress.
- girl
- Girl is the everyday term and has no poetic flavor.
- first
- First is the plain word for the adjective sense, while maiden adds a ceremonial feel.
- inaugural
- Inaugural is more formal and suits official openings.
Opposites
Word family
- maidenhood noun
- the time or state of being a maiden
- maidenly adjective
- modest, as thought suitable for a young woman, now old-fashioned
- mermaiden noun
- a rare poetic variant of mermaid
Commonly confused: maiden or maid?
maiden vs maid
A maid is a female servant or a cleaner, while a maiden is a young woman in stories or a first-time event.
Practice
The ship set off on her ___ voyage in spring and carried over two thousand passengers.
Choose one answer.
Maiden voyage means the very first trip. Maid is a noun for a servant and cannot describe a voyage.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “maiden”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.