madonnas

Noun (1)

madonna (plural madonnas)

1. A representation of the Virgin Mary.
   • Glogau Stat.—Inns: Deutsches Haus; Westphal’s Hotel. A fortress of the 2nd rank on the l. bank of the Oder, 17,000 Inhab. The Dom upon an island dates from 1120, and contains a madonna by Cranach, sen., his masterpiece.1868, “Sect VI.—Prussia, continued. Route 81”, in A Handbook for Travellers on the Continent: Being a Guide to Holland, Belgium, Prussia, Northern Germany, and the Rhine from Holland to Switzerland....
2. A morally pure woman.
   • Yet most of us will probably deny that this blissful woman is a sexual woman. We associate her with Virgin Mary, who conceived in an act of spiritual purity and not in carnal lust and desire. We regard her chastity as essential to her maternal rectitude. Thus we hardly recognize the madonna's...1995, Merete Leonhardt-Lupa, “A Mother's Sexuality”, in A Mother Is Born: Preparing for Motherhood During Pregnancy, Westport, Conn.; London: Bergin & Garvey, →ISBN, page 113
3. A lady.
   • […] hee lay laſt night in ſuch a madonnas chamber, tother night he lay in ſuch a Counteſſes couch, to night he lies in ſuch a Ladies cloſet, […]1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], 2nd edition, London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, Act III, scene i

Noun (2)

madonna (plural madonnas)

1. A one-footed lien-to-tail trick, where the front foot is taken off and kicked out straight down behind the board.

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