vestal
/ˈvɛstəl/
noun
- A virgin priestess who served the Roman goddess Vesta and tended the sacred fire in her temple.
- The punishment for a vestal who let the sacred fire go out was severe.
- Each vestal took a vow of chastity that lasted for thirty years.
- The vestal was chosen from a noble family when she was only six years old.
- A woman who is pure, chaste, or devoted to a religious life.
- She was considered a vestal because of her simple and holy lifestyle.
- The community respected her as a vestal who had given up worldly pleasures.
- In the story, the vestal lived alone in a small cottage, dedicated to prayer.
adjective
- Pure, chaste, or virginal, especially in a religious or moral sense.
- Her vestal devotion to her studies impressed all her teachers.
- The novel described the heroine as having a vestal innocence.
- The old legend spoke of a vestal maiden who guarded the sacred flame.
- Relating to the Roman goddess Vesta or the priestesses who served her.
- The vestal temple in the Roman Forum was one of the city's most sacred sites.
- Vestal rituals included keeping the eternal flame burning at all times.
- The historian wrote a book about vestal customs in ancient Rome.