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Virginity is the noun for the state of never having had sex. It is the abstract word behind the adjective: a virgin *has* virginity, and when a person first has sex, English says they "lose their virginity." That set phrase is by far the most common way you will meet the word — "lose" and "virginity" travel together, and the fixed opposite, oddly, does not exist (nobody "gains" virginity).
Virginity Virginity is是 the noun for the state of never having had sex指從來沒有過性經驗的這個狀態的名詞. It它 is the abstract word behind the adjective是形容詞背後那個抽象名詞: a virgin *has* virginity a virgin(處子之身的人)擁有virginity, and when a person first has sex而當一個人第一次發生性行為, English says they "lose their virginity."英文會說他們"lose their virginity."(失去童貞) That set phrase is by far the most common way you will meet the word這個固定說法是你遇到這個字最常見的方式,遠遠超過其他 — "lose" and "virginity" travel together"lose"和"virginity"總是一起出現, and the fixed opposite, oddly, does not exist而奇怪的是,固定的反義說法並不存在 (nobody "gains" virginity)(沒有人會"gain"virginity).
The register sits in an unusual place. It is a plain, word — newspapers, health classes, and novels all use it without fuss — but the topic itself is private, so people lower their voices or reach for something vaguer in ordinary conversation. It is not rude, and it is not clinical either.
The register它的語感 sits in an unusual place落在一個特別的位置. It它 is a plain, printable word是個平實、可以印在報紙上的字 — newspapers, health classes, and novels all use it without fuss報紙、健康教育課和小說都會平常地使用它 — but the topic itself is private但這個話題本身是私密的, so people lower their voices or reach for something vaguer in ordinary conversation所以人們在日常對話裡會壓低聲音,或改用比較含糊的說法. It它 is not rude不粗俗, and it is not clinical either但也不算是醫學術語那種冷冰冰的字.
Two things worth knowing. First, it applies to any gender; the older habit of using it mainly about women is a habit of the culture, not a rule of the word.
Two things worth knowing有兩件事值得知道. First第一, it applies to any gender它適用於任何性別; the older habit of using it mainly about women is a habit of the culture過去習慣主要用來講女性,那是文化上的習慣, not a rule of the word不是這個字本身的規則.
Second, English stretches it as a joke or a figure of speech to mean "the first time you do anything": people write about losing their "political virginity" at a first election, or a climber's "virginity" on a mountain. That stretched use is deliberate and slightly cheeky — the reader is meant to notice.
Second第二, English英文 stretches it as a joke or a figure of speech to mean "the first time you do anything"會把它拉伸成一種玩笑或比喻,用來指'第一次做某件事': people write about losing their "political virginity" at a first election人們會寫到在第一次選舉時失去自己的"political virginity"(政治童貞), or a climber's "virginity" on a mountain或是一位登山者在某座山上的"virginity"(處女攀登). That stretched use is deliberate and slightly cheeky這種延伸用法是刻意的,帶點調皮 — the reader is meant to notice讀者本來就該注意到這一點.
In religious writing, particularly Catholic writing, virginity can mean a chosen lifelong state, treated as something valuable rather than something merely not yet lost.
In religious writing, particularly Catholic writing在宗教文章裡,特別是天主教的寫作中, virginity virginity can mean a chosen lifelong state可以指一種自己選擇的終身狀態, treated as something valuable rather than something merely not yet lost被當成一種有價值的東西,而不只是'還沒失去'而已.
組成virgin + -ity, the ending that makes an abstract noun out of a describing word (pure → purity, real → reality). English took it through Middle English virginite from Old French virginite, from Latin virginitas. It pushed out the older native English word mæġeþhād — "maidhood" — which had originally meant simply "girlhood."
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
virginitynoun/və(ɹ)ˈd͡ʒɪnɪti/
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The state or characteristic of being a virgin.
- to lose one's virginity
- She had a lot of dark hair pinned untidily back from a small well-formed brow, and her tilted nose and large embarrassed eyes had survived intact from the mistrusts and agitations of a schoolgirl, which maturity had striven to defeat by lengthening her chin and tightening her lips, while giving her skin the faintly furred matt surface of pickled virginity.
資料來源:英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary(CC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。