maidenly

Etymology

It is formed from English maiden + -ly.^[1][2][3][4] Its use as an adverb is compared by the OED with the adverbial suffix -ly.^[1] Maiden is from Old English mægden (“unmarried woman, virgin, girl”), a diminutive of mægþ (“virgin, girl; woman”),^[2][1] from Proto-Germanic *magadīn, in Etymonline's account.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Like a virgin or a maiden, proper to a maiden: before 1450, in a Middle English life of St Katherine, which speaks of "þy maydenly prudence".^[5][1] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From 1523, in Skelton, the word described a person who acted or looked like a maiden, with the gentleness, modesty or timidity thought typical of maidens;^[1] the Shorter Oxford marks this use of persons as obsolete after the late 17th century,^[3] while the OED keeps it current.^[1] Shakespeare could call a soldier "a maidenly man at arms" in Henry IV, Part 2, and Johnson (1755) defined the word as "like a maid; gentle, modest, timorous, decent".^[6] From 1530 it also meant simply "of a maiden or of maidenhood", in early use "virginal", as in the Myroure of Oure Ladye, "thy maydenly body".^[1][5] Byron used it once (1823) for "first, made for the first time", after the sense of maiden seen in maiden speech.^[1] The adverb, "in a maidenly manner", is recorded from 1523 as well,^[1] and is now archaic.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1450 – proper to or typical of a maiden.^[1][5]
• 1523 – of a person, gentle, modest or timid like a maiden.^[1]
• 1523 – adverb, in a maidenly manner.^[1] The Shorter Oxford dates the adverb to the late 16th century.^[3]
• 1530 – relating to a maiden or maidenhood; virginal.^[1][5]
• 1823 – first of its kind made by someone (obsolete).^[1]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, like or befitting a maiden or young unmarried woman: She hid her face with a maidenly blush.^[7][4][1]
2. Gentle, modest or shy, as a maiden was traditionally expected to be.^[4][1]
3. Relating to maidenhood; virginal.^[4][1][3]

Adverb

1. (archaic) In a maidenly manner.^[4][3][1]

Word family

• maidenliness
• unmaidenly

Related words

• maiden
• maid
• maidenhood

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins