Chastity is the state of refraining from sex. A vow of chastity, chastity before marriage, keep chastity.
In religious orders it is one of the three vows, alongside poverty and obedience. Historically it was demanded of women far more than of men, and chastity belts are largely a Victorian myth about the Middle Ages. The Latin castus means pure.
1nounchastityThe state of refraining from sex.
“In the old novel, the heroine's family guarded her chastity until her wedding day.”
chastity is a state.
Latin castitas comes from castus, pure or morally clean. Chaste and chasten are relatives.
Latin
castitas
Old French
chasteté
Middle English
chastite
English, today
chastity
From Middle English chastite, from Old French chasteté, a semi-learned adaptation of Latin castitas, equivalent to chaste + ity.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA