hymen

/ˈhaɪmən/

hymen noun: a membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females.

Noun

hymen (plural hymens)

A membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females.

Synonyms:

maidenhead, virginal membrane
(figuratively) Marriage.
- I would for ever baniſh from my thoughts—I will obey the firſt ſummons that proclaims you a happy wife.—On my devoted head may every miſery, reſulting from an ill-fated marriage, have juſtly been exhauſted. On your propitious hymen may ſmiling peace, domeſtic harmony, and mutual love, for ever...1788, [Cassandra,] Lady H[awke], “Adelaide de Tourville to Henrietta de Valiere”, in Julia de Gramont, […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Bensley, for B[enjamin] White and Son, […], →OCLC, page 203
- Fanny read to herself that "it was with infinite concern the newspaper had to announce to the world, a matrimonial fracas in the family of Mr. R. of Wimpole Street; the beautiful Mrs. R. whose name had not long been enrolled in the lists of hymen, and who had promised to become so brilliant a...1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Mansfield Park: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 281–282

Proper noun capitalized: Hymen

Hymen

(Greek) The god of marriage and marriage ceremonies.
- "By the saffron robe of Hymen," cried Lord Norbourne, "but that would be a blessing! I own that I am no great friend to marriage in general; […] If a young man has his way to make in the world, a wife is a dead weight upon his hands.[…]"1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Proposal of Marriage”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 131

hymen meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

hymen in Hindi

membrane which occludes the vagina: हैमेन haimen, योनिच्छद yonicchad, सतीच्छद satīcchad

hymen in Tamil

பெண் குறி மூடுச்சவ்வு, விருத்திமென்றகடு, ஐமன், கன்னிச்சவ்வு, படலியம், ஹைமென்

hymen in Marathi

membrane which occludes the vagina: उल्वाओढणी ulvāoḍhṇī, योनिअंबर yoniambar

hymen in Urdu

بکارہ, جھلی

More languagesFewer languages

hymen in Telugu: కన్నెపొర kannepora
hymen in Kannada: ಯೋನಿ ಪೊರೆ
hymen in Tagalog: lamad
hymen in Arabic: غِشَاء اَلْبَكَارَة ḡišāʔ al-bakāra
hymen in Persian: پرده بکارت parde-ye bekârat
hymen in Thai: เยื่อพรหมจารี yʉ̂ʉa-prom-má-jaa-rii
hymen in Vietnamese: màng trinh
hymen in Myanmar: အပျိုမြှေး a.pyuihmre:, ကညာမြှေး ka.nyahmre:

Synonyms of hymen

Forms of hymen

plural	hymens

Plural of hymen: hymens

Origin of hymen

From Middle French hymen, from Late Latin hymēn, from Ancient Greek ὑμήν (humḗn, “skin; membrane”).

From Latin Hymēn, from Ancient Greek Ῡ̔μήν (Hūmḗn).

Words formed from hymen

Words that rhyme with hymen

simon
Timon

Questions about hymen

What does hymen mean?: Hymen means a membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females.
What is hymen in Hindi?: Hymen in Hindi is हैमेन (haimen), योनिच्छद (yonicchad), सतीच्छद (satīcchad). See Hymen meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is hymen?: Hymen can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce hymen?: Hymen is pronounced /ˈhaɪmən/.
What is the plural of hymen?: The plural of hymen is hymens.

Words near hymen in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: hymen (page history and authors); Hymen (page history and authors); hymen (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hymen (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); కన్నెపొర (Telugu) (page history and authors); Hymen (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hymen.wav.

Cite this entry: “hymen.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hymen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.