VIRGINALLED

VIRGINAL

Vir"gin*al, a. Etym: [L. virginalis: cf. F. virginal.]

Definition: Of or pertaining to a virgin; becoming a virgin; maidenly. "Chastity and honor virginal." Spenser. Virginal generation (Biol.), parthenogenesis.

– Virginal membrane (Anat.), the hymen.

Vir"gin*al, n. Etym: [Cf. F. virginale; -- probably so called from being used by young girls, or virgins.] (Mus.)

Definition: An instrument somewhat resembling the spinet, but having a rectangular form, like the small piano. It had strings and keys, but only one wire to a note. The instrument was used in the sixteenth century, but is now wholly obsolete. It was sometimes called a pair of virginals.

Vir"gin*al, v. i.

Definition: To play with the fingers, as if on a virginal; to tap or pat. [Obs.] "Still virginaling upon his palm!" Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

21 April 2025

ENCYCLOPEDIA

(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

coffee icon