VIRGIN global science

Parthenon

name of the temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, from Gk., lit. "temple of the virgin goddess" (Athene), from parthenos "virgin," of unknown origin.

Virgo

zodiacal constellation, c.1000, from L. Virgo "the virgin" (see virgin). Meaning "person born under the sign of Virgo" is attested from 1917.

virginal (adj.)

early 15c., from O.Fr. virginal or directly from L. virginalis, from virgin (see virgin). The keyed musical instrument so called from 1520s, but the reason is obscure (see virginals).

vestal (adj.)

"chaste, pure, virgin," 1590s, originally (early 15c.) "belonging to or dedicated to Vesta," Roman goddess of hearth and home. The noun is recorded from 1570s, short for Vestal virgin, one of four (later six) priestesses (L. virgines Vestales) in charge of the sacred fire in the temple of Vesta in Rome. The goddess name, attested in English from late 14c., corresponds to, and may be cognate with, Gk. Hestia, from hestia "hearth," from PIE base *wes- "to dwell, stay" (cf. Skt. vasati "stays, dwells," Goth. wisan, O.E., O.H.G. wesan "to be").

marry (interj.)

a common oath in the Middle Ages, mid-14c., now obsolete, a corruption of the name of the Virgin Mary.

Anne

alt. form of the fem. proper name Anna (q.v.). In Christian tradition, the name of the mother of the Virgin Mary.

virginals

"small harpsichord," 1520s, evidently from virgin, but the connection is unclear, unless it means "an instrument played by girls."

Ave Maria

modified form of the angelic salutation to the Virgin (Luke i.28) used as a devotional recitation, early 13c., from the opening words (Ave [Maria] gratia plena").

Marian (adj.)

"of Mary," 1701, referring to the Virgin; also (c.1600) in reference to the reign of Mary Queen of England (1553-58); and (1902) to Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587).

Pieta

"Virgin holding the dead body of Christ" is 1644, from It., from L. pietatem (see piety).

parthenogenesis

"reproduction without fertilization," 1849, from Gk. parthenos "virgin" + genesis.

Tarpeian rock

rock face on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, from which persons convicted of treason were thrown headlong, from L. (mons) Tarpeius "(rock) of Tarpeia," said to have been a Vestal virgin who betrayed the capitol to the Sabines and was buried at the foot of the rock. Her name probably is of Etruscan-Tyrrhenian origin.

Candlemass

O.E. candelmæsse (from candle + mass (2)), feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary (Feb. 2), celebrated with many candles, corresponding to Celtic pagan Imbolc.

marigold

late 14c., marygolde, from Mary (probably a reference to the Virgin) + gold, for color. The O.E. name for the flower was simply golde.

assumption

c.1300, "the reception, uncorrupted, of the Virgin Mary into Heaven," from L. assumptionem (nom. assumptio) "a taking, receiving," noun of action from pp. stem of assumere (see assume). Meaning "action of taking for oneself" is recorded from 1580s; that of "something taken for granted" is from 1620s.

Regina

fem. proper name, from L., lit. "queen;" related to rex (gen. regis) "king" (see regal). Cf. Skt. rajni "queen," Welsh rhyain "maiden, virgin."

annunciation

c.1400, from Fr. annonciation, from L. annuntiationem (nom. annuntiatio), noun of action from pp. stem of annuntiare (see announce). The Church festival (March 25) commemorating the visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, foretelling the incarnation. O.E. for "Annunciation Day" was bodungdæg.

ladybug

1690s, from lady + bug. The "lady" is the Virgin Mary (cf. Ger. cognate Marienkäfer). In Britain, now usually ladybird beetle (1704), through aversion to the word bug, which there has overtones of sodomy.

Virginia

British colony in N.America, name appears on a map in 1587, named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. The fem. proper name is from L. Virginia, fem. of Virginius, earlier Verginius, probably related to Vergilius (cf. virgilian).

devirginate

late 15c.; see de- + virgin + -ate (2). Related: Devirginated.

virginity

c.1300, from O.Fr. virginite, from L. virginitatem (nom. virginitas), from virgo (see virgin).

paramour

c.1300, noun use of adv. phrase par amour (c.1300) "passionately, with strong love or desire," from Anglo-Fr. par amour, from acc. of amor "love," from amare "to love" (see Amy). Originally a term for Christ (by women) or the Virgin Mary (by men), it came to mean "darling, sweetheart" (mid-14c.) and "mistress, concubine, clandestine lover" (late 14c.).

butler

late 12c., from Anglo-Fr. buteillier "cup-bearer," from O.Fr. boteillier "cup-bearer, butler, officer in charge of wine," from boteille "wine vessel, bottle" (see bottle). The word reflects the position's original function as "chief servant in charge of wine." In O.Fr., fem. boteilliere was used of the Virgin Mary as "dispenser" of the cup of Mercy.

Catherine

fem. proper name, from M.L. Katerina, from Gk. Aikaterina. The -h- was introduced 16c., a folk etymology from Gk. katheros "pure." The initial Gk. vowel is preserved in Russian form Ekaterina. As the name of a type of pear, attested from 1640s. Catherine wheel (early 13c.) is named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, legendary virgin martyr from the time of Maximinus who was tortured on a spiked wheel. Her name day is Nov. 25. A popular saint in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the popularity of the given name.

assume

mid-15c., "to receive up into heaven" (especially of the Virgin Mary, e.g. Feast of the Assumption, celebrated Aug. 15, attested from c.1300), from L. assumere "to take up," from ad- "to, up" (see ad-) + sumere "to take," from sub "under" + emere "to take" (see exempt). Early pp. was assumpt. Meaning "to suppose" is first recorded 1590s. In rhetorical usage, assume expresses what the assumer postulates, often as a confessed hypothesis; presume expresses what the presumer really believes.

purify

c.1300, "free from spiritual pollution," from O.Fr. purifier (12c.), from L. purificare "to make pure," from purus "pure" (see pure) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "free from extraneous matter" is recorded from mid-15c. Purification first attested late 14c.; originally especially in reference to Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary.

madonna

1580s, "Italian lady," from It. madonna, from O.It. ma donna (It. mia donna) "my lady," from ma "my" + donna "lady." Sense of "picture or statue of the Virgin Mary" is from 1640s.

girl

late 13c., gyrle "child" (of either sex), of unknown origin; current scholarship leans toward an unrecorded O.E. *gyrele, from P.Gmc. *gurwilon-, dim. of *gurwjoz (represented by Low Ger. gære "boy, girl"), from PIE *ghwrgh-, also found in Gk. parthenos "virgin." But this is highly conjectural. Another candidate is O.E. gierela "garment." Like boy, lass, lad it is of obscure origin. "Probably most of them arose as jocular transferred uses of words that had originally different meaning" [OED]. Specific meaning of "female child" is 14c. Applied to "any young unmarried woman" since 1520s. Meaning "sweetheart" is from 1648. Girl next door as a type of unflashy attractiveness is first recorded 1961.

maid

late 12c., "a virgin, a young unmarried woman," shortening of maiden (q.v.). Like that word, used in M.E. of unmarried men as well as women. Domestic help sense is from late 14c., from sense in maidservant (1520s). In reference to Joan of Arc, attested from 1540s (cf. Fr. la Pucelle). Maid Marian, one of Robin Hood's companions, first recorded 1520s, perhaps from French, where Robin et Marian have been stock names for country lovers since 13c. Maid of Honor (1580s) originally was "unmarried lady of noble birth who attends a queen or princess;" meaning "principal bridesmaid" is attested from 1895.

virgin (n.)

c.1200, "unmarried or chaste woman noted for religious piety and having a position of reverence in the Church," from O.Fr. virgine, from L. virginem (nom. virgo) "maiden, unwedded girl or woman," also an adj., "fresh, unused," probably related to virga "young shoot." For sense evolution, cf. Gk. talis "a marriageable girl," cognate with L. talea "rod, stick, bar." Meaning "young woman in a state of inviolate chastity" is recorded from c.1300. Also applied since early 14c. to a chaste man. Meaning "naive or inexperienced person" is attested from 1953. The adj. is recorded from 1550s in the literal sense; figurative sense of "pure, untainted" is attested from c.1300.

Distraught pretty girl: "I've lost my virginity!"
Benny Hill: "Do you still have the box it came in?"

lady

M.E. lafdi, lavede, ladi, from O.E. hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," lit. "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (1); also compare lord). Not found outside English except where borrowed from it. Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c.1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from late 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in O.E. to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, etc., from gen. sing. hlæfdigan, which in M.E. merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's; e.g. ladybug. Ladies' man first recorded 1784.

cunt

"female intercrural foramen," or, as some 18c. writers refer to it, "the monosyllable," M.E. cunte "female genitalia," akin to O.N. kunta, from P.Gmc. *kunton, of uncertain origin. Some suggest a link with L. cuneus "wedge," others to PIE base *geu- "hollow place," still others to PIE *gwen-, root of queen and Gk. gyne "woman." The form is similar to L. cunnus "female pudenda" (also, vulgarly, "a woman"), which is likewise of disputed origin, perhaps lit. "gash, slit," from PIE *sker- "to cut," or lit. "sheath," from PIE *kut-no-, from base *(s)keu- "to conceal, hide." First known reference in English is said to be c.1230 Oxford or London street name Gropecuntlane, presumably a haunt of prostitutes. Avoided in public speech since 15c.; considered obscene since 17c.

Under "MONOSYLLABLE" Farmer lists 552 synonyms from English slang and literature before launching into another 5 pages of them in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. [A sampling: Botany Bay, chum, coffee-shop, cookie, End of the Sentimental Journey, fancy bit, Fumbler's Hall, funniment, goatmilker, heaven, hell, Itching Jenny, jelly-bag, Low Countries, nature's tufted treasure, parenthesis, penwiper, prick-skinner, seminary, tickle-toby, undeniable, wonderful lamp, and aphrodisaical tennis court. Du. cognate de kont means "a bottom, an arse," but Dutch also has attractive poetic slang ways of expressing this part, such as liefdesgrot, lit. "cave of love," and vleesroos "rose of flesh."

Alternative form cunny is attested from c.1720 but is certainly much earlier and forced a change in the pronunciation of coney (q.v.), but it was good for a pun while coney was still the common word for "rabbit": "A pox upon your Christian cockatrices! They cry, like poulterers' wives, 'No money, no coney.' " [Philip Massinger: "The Virgin-Martyr," Act I, Scene 1, 1622]

fundamentalist

1920 in the religious sense (as is fundamentalism), from fundamental + -ist. Coined in Amer.Eng. to name a movement among Protestants c.1920-25 based on scriptural inerrancy, etc., and associated with William Jennings Bryan, among others. Fundamentalist is said (by George McCready Price) to have been first used in print by Curtis Lee Laws, editor of "The Watchman Examiner," a Baptist newspaper. The movement may have roots in the Presbyterian General Assembly of 1910, which drew up a list of five defining qualities of "true believers" which other evangelicals published in a mass-circulation series of books called "The Fundamentals." A World's Christian Fundamentals Association was founded in 1918. The words reached widespread use in the wake of the contentious Northern Baptist Convention of 1922 in Indianapolis.

Fundamentalism is a protest against that rationalistic interpretation of Christianity which seeks to discredit supernaturalism. This rationalism, when full grown, scorns the miracles of the Old Testament, sets aside the virgin birth of our Lord as a thing unbelievable, laughs at the credulity of those who accept many of the New Testament miracles, reduces the resurrection of our Lord to the fact that death did not end his existence, and sweeps away the promises of his second coming as an dream. It matters not by what name these modernists are known. The simple fact is that, in robbing Christianity of its supernatural content, they are undermining the very foundations of our holy religion. They boast that they are strengthening the foundations and making Christianity more rational and more acceptable to thoughtful people. Christianity is rooted and grounded in supernaturalism, and when robbed of supernaturalism it ceases to be a religion and becomes an exalted system of ethics. [Laws, "Herald & Presbyter," July 19, 1922]

The original opposition to fundamentalist (within the denominations) was modernist.

A new word has been coined into our vocabulary — two new words — 'Fundamentalist' and 'Fundamentalism.' They are not in the dictionaries as yet — unless in the very latest editions. But they are on everyone's tongue. [Address Delivered at the Opening of the Seminary, Sept. 20, 1922, by Professor Harry Lathrop Reed, "Auburn Seminary Record"]

Applied to other religions, especially Islam, since 1957.