Dictionary entry

Chaste

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Chaste (chāst), a. [F. chaste, from L. castus pure, chaste; cf. Gr. καθαρόσ pure, Skr. çudth to purify.]

1. Pure from unlawful sexual intercourse; virtuous; continent. “As chaste as Diana.” Shak.

Whose bed is undefiled and chaste pronounced.

Milton.

2. Pure in thought and act; innocent; free from lewdness and obscenity, or indecency in act or speech; modest; as, a chaste mind; chaste eyes.

3. Pure in design and expression; correct; free from barbarisms or vulgarisms; refined; simple; as, a chaste style in composition or art.

That great model of chaste, lofty, and eloquence, the Book of Common Prayer.

Macaulay.

4. Unmarried. Chaucer.

Syn. — Undefiled; pure; virtuous; continent; immaculate; spotless.

Chaste tree. Same as Agnus castus.