noun · femininethird declension
virgō1
virgō f (genitive virginis)
Classical[ˈwɪr.ɡoː]Ecclesiastical[ˈvir.ɡo]
№ 418 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- a maiden, maid; an unmarried young woman or girl (typically nubile, i.e., of marriageable age and social status)
Mater virginis in medio est.
The maiden's mother is alive.160 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, AdelphoeImitatus esses ipsum illum Q. Voconium, qui lege sua hereditatem ademit nulli neque virgini neque mulieri: sanxit in posterum, qui post eos censores census esset, ne quis heredem virginem neve mulierem faceret.
1928 translation by L. H. G. Greenwood You might well have followed the example of Quintus Voconius himself, then: for his law did not deprive any girl or woman of her position of heiress if she had it already; it merely enjoined that no one, registered after the year of the censors named, should make a girl or woman his heiress in future.70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.1.107 - Christianbroadlyrarean unmarried young man
- a virgin; someone female who has never experienced (penile–vaginal) sexual intercourse
Peiore res loco non potis est esse quam in quo nunc sitast. Primum indotatast. Tum praeterea, quae secunda ei dos erat,
2001 translation by John Barsby Matters couldn’t be worse than they are now. First, she has no dowry. Then she’s lost the next best thing: she can’t be given in marriage as a virgin. There’s one thing left...160 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Adelphoe 346 (for metrical reasons, some editors amend this to virginī, although this form is not attested as an ablative for this word)Sunt autem qui putant nonnunquam posse complexione supersederi, cum id perspicuum sit quod conficiatur ex ratiocinatione; quod si fiat, bipertitam quoque fieri argumentationem, hoc modo: "Si peperit, virgo non est: peperit autem."
1949 translation by H. M. Hubbell There are, moreover, those who think that one may at times dispense with the conclusion when the result of the reasoning is perfectly clear; in this case the argument may also have only two parts, as follows: "If she has borne a child, she is not a virgin; but she has borne a child.84 BCE, Cicero, De inventione 1.72 - EcclesiasticalLatinbroadlya male virgin
- broadlya young woman, girl
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
puella quae nōndum nūpsit.virgō -inis f — in Mille Verba, ch. Vīta et Mors
fēmina innūptavirgō -inis (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 1
puella innūptavirgō -inis (f) — in Metamorphoses I, †
maiden
virgō -inis — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 9, 15, 17, 18
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Virgo · Puella · Virago
Virgo is an unmarried woman, whether young or old, in opp. to mulier, like παρθένος; whereas puella, a young woman, whether married or not; for instance, Nero’s wife, Octavia, twenty years old, in Tac. Ann. xiv. 64, like κόρη; virago, a masculine, strong, heroic, young woman; for instance, the Amazones, ἀντιάνειραι.
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | virgō virguncula | virginēs virgunculae |
| genitive | virginis virgunculae | virginum virgunculārum |
| dative | virginī virgunculae | virginibus virgunculīs |
| accusative | virginem virgunculam | virginēs virgunculās |
| ablative | virgine virgunculā | virginibus virgunculīs |
| vocative | virgō virguncula | virginēs virgunculae |
virgo, ĭnis, f. root varg-; Sanscr. ūrg, strength, ūrga-jami, nourish; Gr. ὀργάω, to swell, ὀργή, impulse,
I. a maid, maiden, virgin (cf. puella).
I. Lit.
A. In gen.:
cum Sabinas honesto ortas loco virgines rapi jussit, Cic. Rep. 2, 7, 12: (oratio philosophorum) casta, verecunda, virgo incorrupta, id. Or. 19, 64: bellica, i. e. Pallas, Ov. M. 4, 754; Sil. 7, 459: Saturnia, i. e. Vesta, Ov. F. 6, 383: Vestalis, Cic. Rep. 2, 14, 26; 3, 10, 17.—In apposition: virgo filia, Cic. Rep. 2, 37, 63: dea, the virgin goddess, i. e. Diana, Ov. M. 12, 28; Mart. 10, 92, 8.—Transf., of female animals that have not coupled, Plin. 28, 9, 41, § 147: lea, Stat. Th. 12, 357: porca, Mart. 13, 56, 1.—Adject.: carnes, Plin. 28, 4, 10, § 43; cf. equa, Pall. 1, 35 fin.: buculae, Arn. 7, 224.—B. In partic., of particular virgins.—Of a Vestal:
qui esset decimus annus post Virginum absolutionem, Cic. Cat. 3, 4, 9; Hor. C. 3, 30, 9: virgines sanctae, the Vestals, id. ib. 1, 2, 27.— Of Diana, Hor. C. 1, 12, 22; 3, 22, 1.—Of the Danaides, Hor. C. 3, 11, 26.—Of Astrœa, Verg. E. 4, 6.—II. Transf.
A. In gen., of young females, a young woman, girl, Ov. H. 6, 133; Sil. 3, 435; Just. 1, 3, 2; Curt. 5, 1, 38; Verg. E. 6, 47; 6, 52; Hor. C. 2, 8, 23; 3, 14, 9.—
B. In the eccl. fathers, of males, Tert. Virg. Vel. 8; Hier. adv. Jovin. 1, 4; id. Ep. 22, 21; Paul. Nol. Carm. 22, 2. —
C. The constellation Virgo in the zodiac, Cic. poët. N. D. 2, 42, 110; Hyg. Astr. 2, 25; 3, 24.—
D. Aqua Virgo, or simply Virgo, a stream of cold water brought to Rome in an aqueduct constructed by M. Agrippa (so called because a young girl discovered its source), now Fontana Trevi, Front. Aquaed. 10; Plin. 31, 3, 25, § 42; Sen. Ep. 83, 5; Cassiod. Var. 7, 6; Ov. A. A. 3, 385; id. Tr. 3, 12, 22; Mart. 6, 42, 18; 11, 47, 6; 14, 163, 2 al.; cf. Becker, Antiq. 1, p. 703 sq.—
E. Of things; as an adjectival appellative for unwedded, pure, unused (mostly post-class.):
senecta, i. e. unmarried, Tert. adv. Valent. 5: saliva, fasting, id. Jejun. 6: terra, untilled, Plin. 33, 3, 15, § 52: charta, i. e. that has not been read or published, Mart. 1, 67, 7: EMIT ET COMPARAVIT LOCVM VIRGINEM, vacant, Inscr. Orell. 4566.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
virgō inis, f
VERG-, a maid, maiden, virgin: illa Vestalis: bellica, i. e. Pallas, O.: Saturnia, i. e. Vesta, O.: virgo filia: dea, i. e. Diana, O.: notae Virginum poenae, i. e. of the Danaides, H.: Virginum absolutio, i. e. of the Vestals: Virgines sanctae, the Vestals, H.: Iam redit et Virgo, i. e. Astrœa, V.—A young female, young woman, girl: infelix V.: Virgines nuptae, H., O.—A constellation, the Virgin, Virgo, C.—In the phrase, Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct in Rome, now Fontana Trevi: artūs Virgine tinguit aquā, O.; cf. gelidissima Virgo, O.
Origins
Uncertain; one hypothesis is that it is related to virga (“young shoot”).
Descendants
- Catalanverge
- Englishvirgin
- Frenchvierge
- Italianvergine
- Occitanverge
- Portuguesevirgem
- Romanianvirgin
- Romanianvergură
- Spanishvirgen
- Spanishvirgo