virgem

Forms

virgem m or f by sense (plural virgens)^[1] The 13th-century texts write virgen, plural virgẽes and virgees;^[2][3] virgem and uirgem appear in the 14th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin virgō (“girl of marriageable age; virgin”), written Old Galician-Portuguese virgen in the oldest texts.^[2][4][1] Nascentes and Aurélio derive it from the oblique form of the Latin noun.^[5][6] Wiktionary calls it a semi-learned word, and Corominas counts it among the learned words in Portuguese, as in Spanish, while French vierge is semi-learned.^[1][7]

The same Latin word is Galician virxe, Spanish virgen, Catalan verge, Italian vergine and Romanian virgin.^[1][8]

The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^[9][1] Walde and Hofmann, cited by de Vaan, saw in it a derivative of virga (“twig, young shoot”), and the OLD and Wiktionary also mention this link; de Vaan rejects a proposed compound “young woman” as formally unacceptable.^[9][10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantigas de Santa Maria use the word for the Virgin Mary, a loor da Virgen Santa Maria “in praise of the Virgin Holy Mary”, and call her Espello das Virgẽes “mirror of virgins”.^[3] Houaiss dates the noun to the 13th century and the adjective to the 14th.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau gives first the title of the Mother of God and then any person, man or woman, who has not had sexual relations.^[11] The adjective spread from “chaste” to anything untouched or unused: a forest or land never cultivated, wax never melted, film or paper not yet used, unslaked lime, the first olive oil pressed without hot water, wine must that runs from the grapes without pressing.^[2][12] In Brazil the noun names beams and levers of rural machinery, in the cassava press and the monjolo, and informally cachaça.^[2][13][14] With a capital it names the constellation and the sign of the zodiac.^[2][15]

Timeline

• 13th century – Virgen and virgẽes in the Cantigas de Santa Maria.^[3][2]
• 14th century – first record of the adjective.^[2]
• 1491 – the Vida de Santo Elói uses virgem.^[16]
• 1569 – Cardoso gives virgem with the Latin virgo.^[17]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists virgem, ou cousa virgem.^[18]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau gives the title of the Mother of God first.^[11]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira derives the word from the Latin virgo.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person, especially a young woman, who has never had sexual intercourse; a virgin, donzela.^[2][15][1]
2. (with a capital) The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus; an image or painting of her.^[2][6][1]
3. (by extension) An unmarried young woman.^[2][6]
4. A girl who wears a white tunic and a crown of flowers in Catholic processions.^[2][6]
5. (with a capital, astronomy, astrology) Virgo, the constellation and the sixth sign of the zodiac.^[2][15]
6. (Brazil) A beam or lever in rural machinery: the beam of the cassava press, the lever that turns the shaft of the monjolo.^[2][13]
7. (Brazil, informal) cachaça.^[2][14]

Adjective

1. Who has never had sexual intercourse.^[2][1]
2. Chaste, pure, innocent.^[2][15]
3. Untouched, never explored or cultivated: mata virgem, terras virgens.^[2][12][20]
4. Never used before; blank (film, paper, an optical disc).^[2][1]
5. Of olive oil: from the first pressing, without heat; of wax: never melted; of lime: unslaked.^[2][12][1]

Word family

• virgindade
• virginal
• desvirginar

Related words

• desvirginizar
• virginizar
• vixe
• virgíneo
• Latin virgō
• Galician virxe
• Spanish virgen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. virgem
3. ^ a b c d Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. virgen
4. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. virgem
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. virgem
6. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. virgem
7. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 828
8. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 527
9. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. virgem
12. ^ a b c Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. virgem
13. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. virgem
14. ^ a b Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. virgem
15. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9530
16. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. virgem
17. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. virgem
18. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. virgem
19. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 962
20. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. virgem