vestal

English

Etymology

From Latin Vesta, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-. More at was.

Pronunciation

• enPR: vĕs'təl, IPA^(key): /ˈvɛs.t(ə)l/
• Rhymes: -ɛstəl

Adjective

vestal (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth.
2. Pure; chaste.
   • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:

     Does money fail?—come to my mint—coin paper,
     Till gold be at a discount, and ashamed
     To show his bilious face, go purge himself,
     In emulation of her vestal whiteness.

Translations

of or pertaining to Vesta

• Georgian: ვესტალი (vesṭali)
• Irish: veisteach
• Russian: посвящённый (ru) (posvjaščónnyj) Весте (ru) (Veste)
• Spanish: vestal (es)

pure; chaste

• Bulgarian: девствен (bg) (devstven), целомъдрен (bg) (celomǎdren)
• Georgian: უმანკო (umanḳo), უბიწო (ubic̣o)
• Irish: veisteach
• Russian: чи́стый (ru) (čístyj), непорочный (ru) (neporočnyj)
• Spanish: vestal (es)

Noun

vestal (plural vestals)

1. A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar; a vestal virgin.
2. A female virgin; a woman who has never had sexual relations.
3. A nun.

Derived terms

• Drury Lane vestal
• St. John's Wood vestal

 

Translations

virgin consecrated to Vesta — see vestal virgin

female virgin

• Bulgarian: де́вственница f (dévstvennica)
• Esperanto: virgulino
• Russian: де́вственница (ru) f (dévstvennica)
• Spanish: vestal (es)

nun

• Bulgarian: монахиня f (monahinja)
• Russian: мона́хиня (ru) f (monáxinja)

Anagrams

• St Eval, lavest, valets

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /besˈtal/ [besˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ves‧tal

Adjective

vestal m or f (masculine and feminine plural vestales)

1. vestal (of or relating to Vesta)
2. vestal (pure, chaste)

Noun

vestal f (plural vestales)

1. vestal (virgin)

Further reading

• “vestal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014