VIRGINALLING

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

12 May 2025

UNSEASONED

(adjective) not tried or tested by experience; “unseasoned artillery volunteers”; “still untested in battle”; “an illustrator untried in mural painting”; “a young hand at plowing”


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Coffee Trivia

Hawaii and California are the only two U.S. states that grow coffee plants commercially.

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