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virgin

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "virgin", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "virgin" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "virgin" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

virgin is aEnglishnoun. It means: A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or (uncommonly) an animal that has never mated. Pronounced /ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/. It ranks #3,992 in English word frequency. Often confused with Virgo and Virginia.

Key facts for virgin
PropertyValue
Headwordvirgin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,992
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of virgin in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for virgin is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,992 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for virgin, with forms such as "ivrgin", "vigrin", and "virggin". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Virgo", "Virginia", "vigil", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō. Doublet of Virgo. Displaced native Old English fǣmne. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is virgin, spelled V-I-R-G-I-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or (uncommonly) an animal that has never mated.
  2. 2
    A person who has never engaged in any sexual activity at all.
  3. 3
    Someone vowed to virginity (usually a woman and often a consecrated virgin), or someone who died in defense of their virginity; (especially) one venerated as a saint.
  4. 4
    One who has never used or experienced a specified thing.
  5. 5
    Any of several species of gossamer-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
  6. 6
    A female insect producing eggs from which young are hatched, though there has been no fecundation by a male; a parthenogenetic insect.
  7. 7
    An unironic fan of virgincore bands, e.g., Car Seat Headrest, Radiohead, and Weezer.
  8. 8
    A player of certain video games that are popularly believed to be hotbeds of virginity, e.g., League of Legends, Paradox Interactive grand strategy games, and World of Warcraft.
  9. 9
    A Redditor, particularly one who is a moderator.
  10. 10
    A person who wears certain items of clothing that are popularly considered to be dorky, e.g., Crocs and fedoras.

Etymology

From Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō. Doublet of Virgo. Displaced native Old English fǣmne.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ivrgin,vigrin,virggin,virginn,virgni,virign,virrgin,vrigin,vvirgin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for virgin

Misspelling Variants of "virgin"

ivrgin6vigrin6virggin7virginn7virgni6virign6virrgin7vrigin6
Misspelling Variants of "virgin"

Frequency rank: #3,992 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "virgin"?
"virgin" is spelled V-I-R-G-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/.
What does "virgin" mean?
As a noun, "virgin" means: A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or (uncommonly) an animal that has never mated.
What words are commonly confused with "virgin"?
"virgin" is commonly confused with "Virgo", "Virginia", "vigil". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "virgin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "virgin" is /ˈvɜːd͡ʒɪn/. 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 "virgin"?
From Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō. Doublet of Virgo. Displaced native Old English fǣmne. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.