Emily Dickinson Lexicon

VIRGE, n. [or v. See VERGE.]

VIR-GIL'IAN, a.

1. Pertaining to Virgil, the Roman poet.
2. Resembling the style of Virgil. – Young.

VIR'GIN, a.

1. Pure; untouched; as, virgin gold. – Woodward.
2. Fresh; new; unused; as, virgin soil. – Belknap.
3. Becoming a virgin; maidenly; modest; indicating modesty; as, a virgin blush; virgin shame. – Cowley.
4. Pure; chaste.

VIR'GIN, n. [nearly vur'gin; It. virgine; Sp. virgen; Fr. vierge; L. virgo.]

1. A woman who has had no carnal knowledge of man.
2. A woman not a mother. [Unusual.] – Milton.
3. A person of either sex who has not been married. – 1 Cor. vii. 25.
4. The sign Virgo. [See Virgo.] – Milton.

VIR'GIN, v.i.

To play the virgin; a cant word. – Shak.

VIR'GIN-AL, a.

Pertaining to a virgin; maidenly; as, virginal chastity. – Hammond.

VIR'GIN-AL, n.

A keyed instrument of one string, jack and quill to each note, like a spinet, but in shape resembling the forte piano; out of use. – Cyc. Bacon.

VIR'GIN-AL, v.i.

To pat; to strike as on a virginal. [A cant word.] – Shak.

VIR-GIN'I-TY, n. [L. virginitas.]

Maidenhood; the state of having had no carnal knowledge of man.

VIR'GIN'S-BOW-ER, n. [VIR'GIN'S BOW-ER.]

A plant of the genus Clematis.

VIR'GO, n. [L.]

A sign of the zodiac which the sun enters in August; a constellation, containing according to the British catalogue, one hundred and ten stars . – Cyc.

VIR'GO-LEUSE, n. [Fr.]

A variety of pear of an excellent quality; with us pronounced virgoloo, or vergoloo, [See Vergouleuse, the correct orthography.]

VI-RID'I-TY, n. [L. viriditas, from vireo, to be green.]

Greenness; verdure; the color of fresh vegetables . – Evelyn.

VIR'ILE, a. [L. virilis, from vir, a man, Sax. wer; Sans. vira, strong; from the root of L. vireo.]

1. Pertaining to a man, in the eminent sense of the word, [not to man, in the sense of the human race;] belonging the male sex; as, virile age.
2. Masculine; not puerile or feminine; as, virile strength or vigor.

VI-RIL'I-TY, n. [Fr. virilité; L. virilitas.]

1. Manhood; the state of the male sex, which has arrived to the maturity and strength of a man, and to the power of procreation.
2. The power of procreation.
3. Character of man. [Unusual.]

VIR'TU, n. [It. vertu.]

A love of the fine arts; a taste for curiosities. – Chesterfield.

VIR'TU-AL, a. [Fr. virtuel; from virtue. See Virtue.]

1. Potential; having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the material or sensible part. Every kind that lives, / Fomented by his virtual power, and warm'd. – Milton. Neither an actual nor virtual intention of the mind, but only that which may be gathered from the outward acts. – Stillingfleet.
2. Being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual presence of a man in his agent or substitute.

VIR-TU-AL'I-TY, n.

Efficacy. – Brown.

VIR'TU-AL-LY, adv.

In efficacy or effect only; by means of some virtue or influence, or the instrumentality of something else. Thus the sun is virtually on earth by its light and heat. The citizens of an elective government are virtually present in the legislature by their representatives. A man may virtually agree to a proposition by silence or withholding objections. – Addison. Cyc.

VIR'TU-ATE, v.t.

To make efficacious. [Not in use.] – Harvey.

VIR'TUE, n. [ver'tu; Fr. vertu; It. virtu; Sp. vertud; L. virtus, from vireo, or its root. See Worth. The radical sense is strength, from straining, stretching, extending. This is the primary sense of L. vir, a man. Class Br.]

1. Strength; that substance or quality of physical bodies, by which they act and produce effects on other bodies. In this literal and proper sense, we speak of the virtue or virtues of plants in medicine, and the virtues of drugs. In decoctions the virtues of plants are extracted. By long standing in the open air, the virtues are lost.
2. Bravery; valor. This was the predominant signification of virtus among the Romans. Trust to thy single virtues. – Shak. [This sense is nearly or quite obsolete.]
3. Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law. In this sense, virtue may be, and in many instances must be, distinguished from religion. The practice of moral duties merely from motives of convenience, or from compulsion, or from regard to reputation, is virtue, as distinct from religion. The practice of moral duties from sincere love to God and his laws, is virtue and religion. In this sense it is true, That virtue only makes our bliss below. – Pope. Virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth. – Dwight.
4. A particular moral excellence; as, the virtue of temperance, of chastity, of charity. Remember all his virtues. – Addison.
5. Acting power; something efficacious. Jesus, knowing that virtue had gone out of him, turned … Mark iii.
6. Secret agency; efficacy without visible or material action. She moves the body which she doth possess, / Yet no part toucheth, but by virtue's touch. – Davies.
7. Excellence; or that which constitutes value and merit. Terence, who thought the sole grace and virtue of their fable, the sticking in of sentences. – B. Jonson.
8. One of the orders of the celestial hierarchy. Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers . – Milton.
9. Efficacy; power. He used to travel through Greece by virtue of this fable, which procured him reception in all the towns. – Addison.
10. Legal efficacy or power; authority. A man administers the laws by virtue of a commission. In virtue, in consequence; by the efficacy or authority. This they shall attain, partly in virtue of the promise of God, and partly in virtue of piety. – Atterbury.

VIR'TUE-LESS, a.

1. Destitute of virtue.
2. Destitute of efficacy or operating qualities. Virtueless she wish'd all her herbs and charms . – Fairfax.

VIR-TU-O'SO, n. [It.]

A man skilled in the fine arts, particularly in music; or a man skilled in antiquities, curiosities and the like. Virtuoso the Italians call a man who loves the noble arts, and is a critic in them. – Dryden.

VIR-TU-O'SO-SHIP, n.

The pursuits of a virtuoso. – Hurd.

VIR'TU-OUS, a.

1. Morally good; acting in conformity to the moral law; practicing the moral duties, and abstaining from vice; as, a virtuous man.
2. Being in conformity to the moral or divine law; as, a virtuous action; a virtuous life. The mere performance of virtuous actions does not denominate an agent virtuous. – Price.
3. Chaste; applied to women.
4. Efficacious by inherent qualities; as, virtuous herbs; virtuous drugs. [Not in use.] – Chapman.
5. Having great or powerful properties; as, virtuous steel; a virtuous staff; a virtuous ring. [Not in use.] – Milton. Spenser.
6. Having medicinal qualities. [Not used.] – Bacon.