shieldmaiden
noun
shieldmaiden is spelled S-H-I-E-L-D-M-A-I-D-E-N: 12 letters. It appears about once in every 54 million words in written English, the 228,409th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shieldmaiden means “A female virgin who had chosen to fight as a warrior in battle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shieldmaiden is shieldmaidens.
How many letters and syllables are in shieldmaiden?
| Letters | 12: S-H-I-E-L-D-M-A-I-D-E-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 54 million words; the 228,409th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shieldmaiden?
Shieldmaiden appears about once in every 54 million words in written English, the 228,409th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of shieldmaiden
- shieldmaidens plural
- shield-maiden
- shield maiden
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shieldmaiden mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A female virgin who had chosen to fight as a warrior in battle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shieldmaiden in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Norse female virgin who had chosen to fight in battle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Schildmaid |
| Portuguese | donzela escudeira |
| Spanish | doncella escudera |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shieldmaiden come from?
From shield + maiden. Calque from Old Norse skjaldmær (“shieldmaiden”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).