Other forms: maidens
A maiden is a young unmarried woman, in the language of old stories. A fair maiden, the maiden was rescued, maidens danced round the pole.
The noun is archaic and belongs entirely to fairy tales, ballads and deliberate old-fashioned style. The adjective is alive and ordinary: a maiden voyage is a ship's first, a maiden flight an aircraft's first, and a maiden speech a new politician's first in parliament. Maiden name is the surname a woman had before marriage, and is common on forms. In cricket, a maiden over is one from which no runs are scored.
1nounmaidenA young unmarried woman, in old stories.
“Every ballad has a maiden and a river in it.”
2adjectivefirstFirst of its kind.
“The ship sank on its maiden voyage.”
maiden is a young woman, or a first occasion.
Old English mægden is a diminutive of mægth, a maid — the -en ending meaning small, as in kitten and chicken. A maiden was a little maid, and the diminutive is why the word carries an air of youth that maid alone does not.
Proto-Germanic
*magaþs
Proto-West Germanic
*magaþ
Old English
mæġden — girl
Middle English
mayden
English, today
maiden
Built from
From Middle English mayden, meiden, from Old English mæġden (“girl”), originally a diminutive of mæġeþ (“girl”) via diminutive suffix -en, from Proto-West Germanic magaþ, from Proto-Germanic magaþs. Equivalent to maid + -en.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA