maiden

Name: maiden, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈmeɪdən/

//ˈmeɪdən// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“maiden” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,359 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#9,359
frequency rank, English: 6
letters: 8
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A girl or an unmarried young woman.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

maiden vs main

67% similar

maiden vs Maine

50% similar

maiden vs maize

67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for maiden
Property	Value
Headword	maiden
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈmeɪdən/
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#9,359
Misspellings tracked	8
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maiden” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). maiden lands here:

#9,359

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for maiden is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmeɪdən/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,359 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for maiden, with forms such as "amiden", "madien", and "maidden". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "main", "Maine", "maize", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mayden, meiden, from Old English mæġden (“girl”), originally a diminutive of mæġeþ (“girl”) via diminutive suffix -en, from Proto-West Germanic *magaþ, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs. Equivalent to maid + -en. The correct English form is maiden, spelled M-A-I-D-E-N.

Definition

1
A girl or an unmarried young woman.
2
A female virgin.
3
A man with no experience of sex, especially because of deliberate abstention.
4
A maidservant.
5
A clothes maiden.
6
An unmarried woman, especially an older woman.
7
A racehorse without any victory, i.e. one having a "virgin record".
8
A horse race in which all starters are maidens.
9
A Scottish counterpart of the guillotine.
10
A maiden over.
11
A machine for washing linen.
12
Alternative form of Maiden.

Etymology

From Middle English mayden, meiden, from Old English mæġden (“girl”), originally a diminutive of mæġeþ (“girl”) via diminutive suffix -en, from Proto-West Germanic *magaþ, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs. Equivalent to maid + -en.

Synonyms

bachelorette

This word in other languages

doncella(Español)jeune fille(Français)Jungfrau(Deutsch)donzela(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: amiden,madien,maidden,maidenn,maidne,maiedn,miaden,mmaiden

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of maiden - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "maiden"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "maiden"?

"maiden" is spelled M-A-I-D-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪdən/.

What does "maiden" mean?

As a noun, "maiden" means: A girl or an unmarried young woman.

What words are commonly confused with "maiden"?

"maiden" is commonly confused with "main", "Maine", "maize". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "maiden"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maiden" is /ˈmeɪdən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "maiden"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “maiden”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is M-A-I-D-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈmeɪdən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “main” - see the side-by-side comparison. maiden vs main
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.