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Maiden vs Miss - What's the difference?

maiden | miss |

As nouns the difference between maiden and miss

is that maiden is a girl or an unmarried young woman while miss is a failure to hit.

As an adjective maiden

is virgin.

As a verb miss is

to fail to hit.

maiden

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A girl or an unmarried young woman.
  • A female virgin.
  • :
  • A man with no experience of sex, especially because of deliberate abstention.
  • *:
  • *:As for that said sire Bors I wille be shryuen with a good wylle / Soo syr Bors was confessyd / and for al wymmen sir Bors was a vyrgyne / sauf for one / that was the doughter of kynge Brangorys / and on her he gat a child that hyghte Elayne / and sauf for her syre Bors was a clene mayden
  • A maidservant.
  • An unmarried woman, especially an older woman.
  • A racehorse without any victory ('virgin record').
  • (label) A Scottish counterpart of the guillotine.
  • :(Wharton)
  • (label) A maiden over.
  • (label) A machine for washing linen.
  • (label)

    • Derived terms

    * maidenhair * maidenhead * maidenhood * maidenly, maidenliness * maiden flight * maiden voyage * maiden name * maiden of honor * iron maiden

    Related terms

    * maid

    Synonyms

    * bachelorette

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Virgin.
  • * Thackeray
    • a surprising old maiden lady
  • Without offspring.
  • Like or befitting a (young, unmarried) maiden.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Have you no modesty, no maiden shame?
  • (figuratively) Being a first occurrence or event.
    • The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage .
    After Edmund Burke's maiden speech, William Pitt the Elder said Burke had "spoken in such a manner as to stop the mouths of all Europe" and that the Commons should congratulate itself on acquiring such a member.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 13 , author=Andrew Benson , title=Williams's Pastor Maldonado takes landmark Spanish Grand Prix win , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado took his maiden victory and Williams's first since 2004 in a strategic battle with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.}}
  • (cricket) Being an over in which no runs are scored.
  • Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused.
  • * Shakespeare
    • maiden flowers
  • * Shakespeare
    • Full bravely hast thou fleshed / Thy maiden sword.
  • Of a fortress, never having been captured or violated.
    • (Macaulay)

    Synonyms

    * (l)

    Anagrams

    * English adjectives ending in -en ----

    miss

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) missen, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (es)
  • (ambitransitive) To fail to hit.
    • I missed the target.
    I tried to kick the ball, but missed .
  • * (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
    • Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss .
  • * (Edmund Waller) (1606-1687)
    • Flying bullets now, / To execute his rage, appear too slow; / They miss , or sweep but common souls away.
  • To fail to achieve or attain.
    • to miss an opportunity
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
    • When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right.
  • To feel the absence of someone or something, sometimes with regret.
    • I miss you! Come home soon!
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
    • What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss .
  • *
    • The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits. He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance. Nobody would miss them, he explained.
  • To fail to understand or have a shortcoming of perception.
    • miss the joke
  • To fail to attend.
    • Joe missed the meeting this morning.
  • To be late for something (a means of transportation, a deadline, etc.).
    • I missed the plane!
  • (sports) To fail to score (a goal).
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia , passage=Georgia, ranked 16th in the world, dominated the breakdown before half-time and forced England into a host of infringements, but fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili missed three penalties.}}
  • (obsolete) To go wrong; to err.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
    • Amongst the angels, a whole legion / Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss; / What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss ?
  • (obsolete) To be absent, deficient, or wanting.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
    • What here shall miss , our toil shall strive to mend.
    Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See
    Antonyms
    * (to fail to hit) hit, strike, impinge on, run into, collide with * (to feel the absence of) have, feature
    Derived terms
    * hit-and-miss * miss a trick * miss the mark * miss the point * miss the boat * miss fire, misfire * miss out * near miss

    Noun

    (es)
  • A failure to hit.
  • A failure to obtain or accomplish.
  • An act of avoidance.
    • I think I’ll give the meeting a miss .

    Etymology 2

    From (mistress).

    Noun

    (wikipedia miss)
  • A title of respect for a young woman (usually unmarried) with or without a name used.
    • You may sit here, miss .
    You may sit here, Miss Jones.
  • An unmarried woman; a girl.
  • * Cawthorn
    • Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, / Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses .
  • A kept woman; a mistress.
    • (Evelyn)
  • (card games) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.
    • Related terms
    * Miss * missis, missus * missy * *

    Anagrams

    * * English transitive verbs 1000 English basic words ----