# maiden

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmeɪdən/ · frequency rank #9,359

## Definitions
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.

## Easily confused with
- **main** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-main)
- **Maine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maine)
- **maize** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maize)
- **maids** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maids)
- **Maude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maude)
- **maven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maven)
- **mailed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-mailed)
- **Maison** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maison)
- **mailer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-mailer)
- **maimed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-maimed)
- **Malden** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-malden)
- **marten** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-marten)
- **Mandel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-mandel)
- **Marsden** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maiden-vs-marsden)
- **made** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/made-vs-maiden)
- **maid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maid-vs-maiden)
- **madden** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/madden-vs-maiden)
- **Madsen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/madsen-vs-maiden)
- **maidan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maidan-vs-maiden)
- **madmen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/madmen-vs-maiden)

## Common misspellings (8)
`amiden`, `madien`, `maidden`, `maidenn`, `maidne`, `maiedn`, `miaden`, `mmaiden`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/maiden