maidenly
adjEtymology From Middle English maidenly, equivalent to maiden + -ly.
1
Of or pertaining to a maiden.
2
Suitable for, or befitting a maiden; gentle; modest; pure; shy.
- “I’ll try, but it was a very ungentlemanly thing to do, I didn’t think you could be so sly and malicious, Laurie,” replied Meg, trying to hide her maidenly confusion under a gravely reproachful air.1868-69, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 21, in Little Women:
- Antonyms
- unmaidenly
- Related terms
- maidenliness