maidenhead

Maidenhead is an archaic or literary term for virginity, particularly a woman's virginity.

The word combines maiden (an unmarried young woman) with head in its old sense of condition or state.

In historical and literary contexts, a maidenhead was something to be "lost" or "taken," reflecting older cultural preoccupations with female chastity before marriage.

The term appears frequently in Shakespeare and other early modern texts but sounds quaint or affected in contemporary usage.