vestal

Sacred hearth priestess

Vestal means pure, chaste, or virginal.

The word comes from the Vestal Virgins—priestesses in ancient Rome who tended the sacred flame and took vows of celibacy.

A vestal or vestal virgin now refers to any chaste woman, often with ironic or literary intent: She was hardly a vestal—she'd been married three times.

priestess

Vesta

Goddess of hearth

RomeItaly's capital city
RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
templeSacred worship structure

hearth · flame · eternal fire · goddess · tending · guardian · sacerdotal · antiquity · consecrated · vow

virgin

chaste

Abstaining from sexual activity

pureUnmixed, without impurities
maidenUnmarried young woman
untouchedNot contacted or affected

celibate · abstinent · innocent · virtuous · unblemished · immaculate · unsullied · undefiled · modest · pristine

sacred

holy

Dedicated to the divine

divineOf or from gods
sanctifiedMade sacred through blessing
consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual

blessed · hallowed · venerated · revered · inviolable · sacrosanct · dedicated · devoted · spiritual · religious

ritual

ceremony

Formal event marking occasions

riteCeremonial act or practice
altarSacred ritual table
offeringSomething presented or given

sacrifice · purification · liturgy · libation · ablution · incense · procession · festival · tending · vigil

vestal

Vesta

chaste

holy

ceremony

vestal

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