Virginia
WordNet
noun
(1) A town in northeastern Minnesota in the heart of the Mesabi Range
(2) A state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
(3) One of the British colonies that formed the United States
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , feminine form of or , a Roman family name, possibly identical with Vergilius. The state was named for Elizabeth I as the Virgin Queen.
Proper noun
Quotations
- 1380s-1390s, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The Physician's Prologue and Tale
- "Daughter," quoth he, "Virginia by thy name,
- There be two wayes, either death or shame,
- That thou must suffer, - alas that I was bore!
- 1840 Frederick Marryat, Poor Jack, Chapter III,
- Here, in due time, she was brought to bed of a daughter, whom she christened by the name of Virginia; not so much out of respect to her last mistress, who bore that name, as because she considered it peculiarly ladylike and genteel.
- 1854 Lydia Howard Sigourney, The Western Home, and Other Poems, Parry & McMillan, 1854, page 87 ,
- O sweet Virginia Dare!
- Thou art the lily of our love,
- The forest's sylph-like queen,
- The first-born bud from Saxon stem
- That this New World hath seen!