maidenheadn.1
/ˈmeɪdnhɛd/, U.S. /ˈmeɪdnˌhɛd/ Now archaic.† 2. gen. The first stage or first fruits of anything; the first example, proof, trial, or use; also in phrases (see sense 1b). Obsolete.
1. † b. Phrases: to enjoy (also get, have, prove, take, win) a (woman's) maidenhead; also of a woman (rarely, of a man), to keep (also lose) one's maidenhead, (Scottish) to tine one's maidenhead. Obsolete.† c. In asseverative phrases, as by (also upon) one's maidenhead, etc. Obsolete.
a. The state or condition of being a virgin, virginity (esp. of a young woman, occasionally of a man). Also: the hymen (occasionally: †the vagina), esp. considered as the mark of a woman's chastity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > virginity > [noun]
maidenhoodOE
maidhooda1200
flowera1300
maidenheada1325
maidheada1393
virginitya1400
virgintyc1400
virginality?c1450
maidenliness1555
virginhead1605
virginhood1636
virgin1649
vestalship1893
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > virginity > [noun] > specifically of men
maidenheada1325
virginitya1425
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > unmarried woman > [noun] > young unmarried woman > condition of > virginity as natural condition of
maidenheada1325
virginitya1400
virginity1604
the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vagina > membrane of
maidenhead1597
hymen1615
cherry1928
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1852 Sichem tok hire maiden-hed.
J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (York Min.) (1901) 125 Iesu crist..was..consayued of the maiden mari..Withouten ony mynnyng of hir maidenhede.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 10880 (MED) I herd it neuer..Womman ber barn in maiden-hedd.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 12706 Ion þe wangelist..he liued in maiden-hede.
1422 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 80 Thoose persons that byn by ony professyon regular in the holy ordyr of clene maydenhede and virgynyte.
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) lv (MED) That unknyghtly dede Quhare was fro the bereft thy maidenhede.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges xi. 38 Then wente shee with her playefeeres, and bewayled hir mayden heade vpon the mountaynes.
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 24 1 Off with their heads. 2 The heads of the maids? 1 I the heades of their Maides, or the Maidenheades . View more context for this quotation
a1625 J. Fletcher Monsieur Thomas (1639) iv. ii. sig. I3v A fine gentleman..a tall yong man..I sweare he has his maidenhead.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Georgics in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. ¶2v He who carries a Maidenhead into a Cloyster, is sometimes apt to lose it there.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xviii. xiii. 297 A merry Song, which bore some Relation to Matrimony, and the Loss of a Maidenhead . View more context for this quotation
1796 S. Pegge Anonymiana (1809) 457 To be able to look upon the sun, they say, is a sign of one's having a maidenhead.
a1866 E. Sellon New Epicurean (1875) 22 The next minute I..was frigging away at her maidenhead.
1867 R. G. Latham Dict. Eng. Lang. Maidenhead,..Virginity..the hymen, or virginal membrane.
1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche xii. xxiv. 153 His earthly bride, Who won his love, in simple maidenhead.
1928 F. W. S. Browne tr. T. H. van de Velde Ideal Marriage ii. iv. 57 Within this space is the sexual orifice... In maidens this is closed by the hymen..or virginal membrane, popularly called ‘maidenhead’.
1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being (1945) 118 Excited..with an allergy to maidenheads.
1967 G. Greene Dr. Crombie in Coll. Stories (1972) 133 A lady may have had prolonged sexual relations..without injuring the maidenhead.
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a1325 [see sense 1a].
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2134 (MED) Y loued neuer man wiþ mode Bot him þat hadde mi maidenhede.
c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 767 Þat hende kniȝt..he wan hir maidenhede.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 204 Sho werid þat wyked dede Þat made hir lose hir maydenhede.
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 446 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 309 Myn madynned quhow I first tynt þar.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 3997 Most was hir mynde hir maidonhede to kepe.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (rev. ed.) f. 74v Zit keipit scho hir madinheid vnforlorne.
1591 J. Lyly Sapho & Phao ii. i Phœbus in his godhead sought to get my maidenhead.
1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant 2nd Prol. sig. A4 As some raw Squire, by tender Mother bred, Till one and Twenty keeps his Maidenhead.
1697 J. Vanbrugh Æsop: 2nd Pt. 13 Æsop. How long did you stay? Beau. Till I had lost my maidenhead.
1731 W. R. Chetwood Generous Free-mason i. ii. 15 I'll..make her long to lose her maidenhead.
1732 R. Drury Devil of Duke i. 19 Debauch'd! that is to say, lay with her, and got her Maidenhead.
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1602 T. Dekker Blurt Master-Constable sig. A4v Tush, by my maiden-head I will not..daunce.
1602 T. Dekker Blurt Master-Constable sig. G4v Shee's an Asse, by the crowne of my Mayden-head.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. iii. 23 By my troth, and Maidenhead, I would not be a Queene. View more context for this quotation
a1625 J. Fletcher Humorous Lieut. iv. v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) 141/1 A very youth sir, Upon my maiden-head as smug as April.
a1679 Earl of Orrery Guzman (1693) iv. 38 If I can Loo these Strangers on them, on my Maiden-head, I'll do't.
1686 T. D'Urfey Common-wealth of Women iii. 27 By my Maden-head I cannot hurt him now.
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a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 3036 Þou..þe maydenhede of this Iuel Shalt preue anone.
a1550 Tales & Quick Answ. (1814) xcv. 98 That he wolde gyue him leaue to haue the maidenheed of the pyllory.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes Ep. Ded. The maiden head of my industrie I yeelded to a noble Mecenas (renoumed Lecester) the honor of England.
a1592 H. Smith Serm. (1599) 536 God requiring the first labours of his seruants, and (as I may say), the maidenhead of euery man.
1612 (title) Parthenia, or the Maydenhead of the first musicke that euer was printed for the Virginalls.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1691) i. 20 One sort of Vessels, and Rigging, where haste is requisite for the Maidenhead of a Market.
1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote I. i. ii. 8 Others affirm, that the Wind-mills had the maidenhead of his valour.
1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions VI. cxxxvi. 192 He had received a present, of which, he insisted upon it, we should have the maidenhead.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
maidenheadn.2
/ˈmeɪdnhɛd/, U.S. /ˈmeɪdnˌhɛd/ 1. A representation of the head and shoulders of a young woman in full face, couped below the breasts, with her hair loose and often dishevelled (usually wreathed with a garland and crowned with an Eastern crown), used as a heraldic charge, as a maker's mark on silverware, etc.The Mercers' Company have used a maidenhead as their cognizance since at least 1425 (the date of their first seal), and probably from much earlier. The origins of this are unclear and disputed, but it is probable that the maiden represented the Virgin Mary (see sense 2), although in staunchly Protestant times and more recently this has been denied.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of human or divine beings > [noun] > Virgin Mary
maidenhead1448
1448 Wardens' Accts. Bk. (Mercers' Co.) f. 156v Item, paié a le glasyer pur makyng ye glas cum maydens hede—xij d.
1450 Wardens' Accts. Bk. (Mercers' Co.) f. 165v ij frontelles with ij mayden hedys, with the browdery of a trayle of red rosis—iij li. vj s. viij d.
c1475 in F. P. Barnard Edward IV's French Exped. (1925) f. 2v Sir Willm aparre..maydyn hed.
1552 H. Machyn Diary (1848) 19 Grett Chamburlayn, standard yelow and blakke, a mayden hed.
1615 T. Heywood Foure Prentises in Wks. (1874) II. 229 Godfreyes shield, hauing a Maidenhead with a Crowne in it.
1618 J. Taylor Pennyles Pilgrimage A 4 b I..went that night as farre as Islington, There did I finde..A Maydenhead of twenty fiue yeeres old, But surely it was painted,..And for a signe or wonder, hang'd at' dore.
1728 S. Kent Banner Display'd II. 764 Crest, on a Torce of his Colours, a maidenhead proper, enclos'd in a Ring of Gold.
1847 H. Gough Gloss. Terms Brit. Heraldry 160 Maiden-head, the head and shoulders of a woman affrontée, couped below the breasts, (her hair dishevelled,) and usually wreathed with a garland of roses, and crowned with an eastern crown.
1973 J. P. Brooke-Little Heraldic Alphabet 113 A maiden's head is normally shown affronty with long fair hair.
2. spec. A representation of the head or head and shoulders of the Virgin Mary, forming an ornamental finish to the handle of a spoon; (occasionally) the spoon itself. Now historical.
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery > spoon > of specific design
maidenhead1495
fiddle-pattern1865
rat-tail1891
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery > spoon > types of
maidenhead1495
slipc1530
Apostle spoon1631
tea-spoon1686
hall-spoon1688
pap spoon1691
tablespoon1741
dessert-spoon1808
salt-spoon1820
monkey spoon1833
Puritan spoon1875
sugar shell1895
seal-top1898
slotted spoon1900
absinthe spoon1905
trifid1927
1446 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 92 In Promptuario sunt ij Coclearia argentea et deaurata..cum ymaginibus Beatæ Mariæ in fine eorundem.]
1495 in T. P. Wadley Notes Wills Orphan Bk. Bristol (1886) 170 [Six silver spoons] cum Maidenheddis. [Six silver spoons] de Maidenheddis.
1522 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 162 Mariæ Evers sex cocliaria de arg. cum le madynheddes.
1538 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 134 Allso I bequeth to Nycholas Esthaw my syluer pece and iij syluer sponys wt mayeden hedes.
1567 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 198 xiij postle spones..1/ 2 dossone lyones and 1/ 2 doss. madinehedes.
1593 R. Hill Will in E. V. Hall Testamentary Papers (1933) 2nd Ser. II. 40 Item I give and bequeathe unto my daughter Anne Sturley..one dozen of silver spoones with the mayden head.
1973 Country Life 29 Mar. 880 Maidenhead spoon, possibly Salisbury, circa 1600.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1a1325
n.21448