English
virgin
Virgin comes from Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virgō ‘maiden’ (accusative virginem).
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirgōas virginem‘maiden; unmarried young woman’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400virgine
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500virgine
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611virgin
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvirgōas virginem‘maiden; unmarried young woman’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400virgine
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500virgine
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611virgin
Earliest quotation: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “The white cold virgin snow upon my heart /…”
Every English word from Latin virgō
Today it means
noun A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or (uncommonly) an animal that has never mated.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin virgō / virgin