maidhood

English

Etymology

From Middle English maidhod, maidhede, meithhad, from Old English mæġeþhād, corresponding to maid +‎ -hood. Compare maidenhood.

Noun

maidhood (uncountable)

1. The state, condition, or quality of a maid; maidenhood; virginity.
   • 1888, Samuel Rockwell Reed, Offthoughts about Women and Other Things - Page 270:

     Must the coming woman marry to take away the reproach of maidhood? ... But if the coming woman is to have the same fear of keeping her maidhood, she will be as subject to man as now, and equality laws will fail to make her equal.

Related terms

• old-maidhood