Chaste

Pronunciation

• enPR: chāst, IPA: /tʃeɪst/
• Homophones: chased
• Rhymes: -eɪst

Origin

From Old French chaste ("morally pure"), from Latin castus ("pure").

Full definition of chaste

Adjective

1. abstaining from sexual intercourse, celibate
2. virginal, innocent, having had no sexual experience
3. simple, austere, undecorativea chaste style in composition or art
4. modest, decent, morally purea chaste mind; chaste eyes

Usage notes

Married couples are often exhorted to have "chaste sex"--compare the Vatican encyclical Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Wedlock).

Derived terms

• chastity

Anagrams

• cheats
• sachet
• scathe
• stache
• taches