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virginal

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.07 sec.
virginal, musical instrument: see spinet spinet, musical instrument of the harpsichord family. Although the terms virginal and spinet, interchangeable until the end of the 17th cent., were sometimes used indiscriminately to designate any harpsichord, they usually referred to small instruments
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virginal

 or virginals

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English virginal (with jack rail removed) made by Robert Hatley, London, 1664; in the …
(credit: From the Benton-Fletcher Collection at the National Trust Property, Fenton House, Hampstead, London)
Small rectangular harpsichord with a single set of strings and a single manual. The derivation of its name is uncertain. The virginal's strings run parallel to the keyboard, which occupies only a portion of the longer side. Combination virginals include a smaller portable virginal that can be placed on top of the larger keyboard to create a two-manual instrument. The virginal was particularly popular in 16th–17th-century England, where much music was written for it by William Byrd, Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, and others.
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In her voice there was a virginal freshness, an unconsciousness of her own powers, and an as yet untrained velvety softness, which so mingled with her lack of art in singing that it seemed as if nothing in that voice could be altered without spoiling it.
War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
Gilbert had a sudden vision of Anne, arrayed in a frilly green gown, with the virginal curves of arms and throat slipping out of it, and white stars shining against the coils of her ruddy hair.
Anne of The Island by Montgomery, Lucy Maud View in context
With a kind of religious fervor he had managed to go through the pitfalls of his youth and to remain virginal until after his marriage.
Winesberg, Ohio by Anderson, Sherwood View in context
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