vestal
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin Vesta, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-. More at was.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
vestal (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth.
- Pure; chaste.
- 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:
- Does money fail?—come to my mint—coin paper,
Till gold be at a discount, and ashamed
To show his bilious face, go purge himself,
In emulation of her vestal whiteness.
Translations edit
of or pertaining to Vesta
pure; chaste
Noun edit
vestal (plural vestals)
- A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar; a vestal virgin.
- A female virgin; a woman who has never had sexual relations.
- A nun.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
virgin consecrated to Vesta — see vestal virgin
female virgin
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Anagrams edit
Spanish edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
vestal m or f (masculine and feminine plural vestales)
Noun edit
vestal f (plural vestales)
- vestal (virgin)
Further reading edit
- “vestal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014