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vestal |
4 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Vestal \Ves"tal\, a. [L. Vestalis belonging to Vesta, vestal. See {Vesta}.] Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth; hence pure; chaste. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Vestal \Ves"tal\, n. [L. Vestalis (sc. virgo): cf F. vestale. See {Vestal}, a.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar. Note: The Vestals were originally four but afterward six in number. Their term of service lasted thirty years, the period of admission being from the sixth to the tenth year of the candidate's age. 2. A virgin; a woman pure and chaste; also a nun. How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! --Pope. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: vestal adj 1: of or relating to Vesta; "vestal virgin" 2: in a state of sexual virginity; "pure and vestal modesty"; "a spinster or virgin lady"; "men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal" [syn: {pure}, {virgin}, {virginal}, {virtuous}] n : a chaste woman From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]: Vestal, NY Zip code(s): 13850
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