maiden

将“maiden”与“maid”联系起来，想象一个年轻的女孩（maid）第一次做某事，比如跨越大海进行冒险，这个过程通常是未受污染、纯洁的，就像“maiden”一词所表达的处女、童贞或初次的含义。

maiden 少女，处女

来自古英语maegden,少女，处女，女仆，-en,小词后缀，来自Proto-Germanic*magadinom,少女，年青女子，来自PIE*maghu,少男，少女，未结婚的人。后仅用于指女孩，少女。

maiden

maiden: [OE] Maiden goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *magadiz ‘young (sexually inexperienced) woman’, which is also the source of German mädchen ‘girl’. Its diminutive form, *magadīnam, passed into Old English as mægden, the antecedent of modern English maiden. Maid is a 12th-century abbreviation.

maiden (n.)

Old English mægden, mæden "maiden, virgin, girl; maid, servant," diminutive of mægð, mægeð "virgin, girl; woman, wife," from Proto-Germanic *magadinom "young womanhood, sexually inexperienced female" (cognates: Old Saxon magath, Old Frisian maged, Old High German magad "virgin, maid," German Magd "maid, maidservant," German Mädchen "girl, maid," from Mägdchen "little maid"), fem. variant of PIE root *maghu- "youngster of either sex, unmarried person" (cognates: Old English magu "child, son, male descendant," Avestan magava- "unmarried," Old Irish maug "slave").

maiden (adj.)

"virgin, unmarried," c. 1300, from maiden (n.). The figurative sense of "new fresh, first" (as in maiden voyage) is first recorded 1550s. Maiden name is from 1680s.

1. The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.

王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女.

2. The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.

这架飞机明天首航.

3. Her maiden name is Li.

她娘家姓李.

4. Looking up at the eaves, Orchid muttered: " Why isn't Spring Maiden back yet? "

兰花向天井檐上张一张, 自言自语地说: “ 青姑娘还不回来 呢 !

5. In 1912, the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage.

1912年，“泰坦尼克”号在处女航中失事沉没。

【single, virgin, maiden】
这组词都有“未婚者，孤身一人”的意思，其区别是：
single: 指尚未结婚的人，但更多指终生不结婚的人。
virgin: 通常指未婚者，贞洁未被玷污的人，或指婚烟关系尚未完成者。
maiden: 与virgin含义相近，但更着重年轻与未婚，或未曾发生过任何两性关系。

【girl, daughter, maid, maiden】
这组词都有“姑娘，女孩子”的意思，其区别是：
girl: 指7岁到12岁左右的女孩，与boy相对，广义指未婚的女孩。
daughter: 指女子对父母而言的概称，不涉及年龄的大小。
maid: 指闺女，女佣人。
maiden: 指少女，处女或未婚女子。